


Lean On Me

by GemNika



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: 8 Island (Fairy Tail), Developing Friendships, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Heartbreak, Massage, Multiple Relationships, Slow Burn, Snow Angels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-03-14 09:56:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13587648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemNika/pseuds/GemNika
Summary: Elfman finally decides to man up and ask the woman of his dreams out, but when she rips out his heart he has no idea how to pick up the pieces. Luckily for him, Lucy's there with a shoulder to cry on and all the support he could ever ask for.





	1. Confession

 

This was it. Today was the day that he was finally going to tell her just how he felt. He'd been fighting it with everything he was worth, constantly reminding himself that a woman should show true interest in a man before he asked her out. It had worked for months—years if he was counting the seven years they lost on Tenrou—and after Fairy Tail had come out victorious in the Grand Magic Games, he'd thought things would be different. The feisty brunette had stayed by his side the entire time he was locked in the infirmary during the games, had snuck out with him to go to Ryuzetsu Land. She smacked him with her fan constantly, but he figured it was just her way of showing affection. She turned him to stone more often than he cared to admit, but that was just how she was. Everything about the Fairy mage set Elfman's heart aflutter in the manliest way possible, and he knew she must feel the same way. At least, he  _hoped_  she did.

Elfman had set his feelings for her to the side when they had all returned from Crocus, instead choosing to make sure his sisters were well cared for since they had all been gone for so long. He took mission after mission with Lisanna, wanting to know without a doubt that his baby sister would be able to take care of herself whenever she went on random missions with Team Natsu. It wasn't often that she went, but he could see that she still had feelings for Natsu. It was nice to know that there were things that time didn't change. Lisanna and Natsu had been the most adorable little family while they raised Happy, and Elfman was just glad that they had entrusted him to watch over Happy's egg back then. Happy was their kid, and Lisanna and Natsu were married. He'd heard the sweet angel that was his little sister ramble about the pink-haired fire-breather day in and day out up until the day she 'died'.

Now that things were finally back to normal for them all, Elfman decided to take Mira and Lisanna's advice and just ask Evergreen out.  _'It'd be worse if I didn't at least try,'_  he thought as he glanced across the guild hall to see a quick flash of light bouncing off of Evergreen's glasses from her seat at the Raijinshuu's table. It made him think that maybe… Just maybe… She had been looking his way before he had turned to look at her. A very familiar warmth spread through him at the thought that she really would want to be with a guy like him. He knew he'd be all the man she could ever want, and just hoped she would give him the chance to prove that to her.

The doors to the guild flew open, banging loudly against the walls as a bruised and grinning Team Natsu entered. Elfman turned to worriedly watch each of the members ambling into the guild, checking to see if Lisanna had made it back safely from her mission with them. When he saw that Erza had an unconscious Gray thrown over her shoulder, with slightly bloodied bandages wrapped around his naked torso and forehead, Elfman started to fear the worst. Happy flew in next, munching on a fish with a grin on his face. Following closely behind him was Wendy, who was talking animatedly with Lisanna—making his heartbeat return to a much more normal pace instead of the hummingbird-like thrumming it had been doing when he hadn't been able to see her. His baby sister was safe, smiling widely, and didn't seem to be injured in the slightest. Once he caught her bright blue gaze, she smiled sweetly at Wendy and excused herself before making a bee-line to the table he was lounging at near the bar.

"Hey, big brother!" Lisanna chirped happily as she bounced over to Elfman, a wide smile on her face and her short white hair flowing slightly behind her since she'd let it grow out just a little more than before.

Elfman pulled Lisanna into a tender hug, reminding himself just how manly it was to care so much for his family, and then pushed her at arm's length while he checked over her one more time for injuries he may have missed. "How was it?" he asked softly, returning her smile with one of his own.

"Oh, well…" Lisanna muttered sheepishly, scratching the back of her head and nervously laughing while she avoided her brother's gaze. "I-I think Lucy might kill Natsu for real this time."

"Huh?" Elfman asked, lifting his head and looking around the guild for the blonde-haired girl that had reminded him so much of his little sister before she'd been returned from Edolas. When he didn't see her, he started to look for Natsu—knowing the two were hardly away from each other for long—before Lisanna drew his attention back to her.

"Yeah… We were supposed to round up a bunch of monsters, and it was an S-Class mission so Wendy came along in case we needed to be healed… Well, Natsu got into a fight way Gray halfway through fighting everything, and they made it into a competition of sorts to see who could kill more of them…"

"That's a MAN!" Elfman chuckled, his smile faltering when Lisanna flinched and grimaced.

"Well… Erza tried to stop them from getting too carried away, and Natsu set the forest on fire with a stray attack. Gray tried to stop it with his ice, but ended up hitting Erza in the process, and her sword went flying at Wendy and me… Wendy used her roar to send the sword flying away from us, but the wind in her attack ended up spreading the fire in the forest even more…"

"Uh-huh…?" Elfman said slowly, his eyes widening in shock at just how much damage that team was able to cause when it was just an accident. He paled to think of what could happen if they actually  _tried_ to decimate things.

"So… The monsters ran off in every direction, and we were all scrambling to catch them before they got back to the town we were only about a mile away from…" Lisanna continued softly. "When we finally caught all of them, we couldn't find Lucy anywhere… And we were searching and searching for her until Natsu found her scent. We walked about three miles further from the town and found her sitting in a camp she'd made for all of us for the night. Turns out she took out the ones that had doubled back when we weren't looking, and then figured there was no point in trying to search for us since it would just take longer for everyone to rally together again."

"… Alright…?" Elfman had never known Lisanna to ramble this much, even when it concerned Natsu, and with how guilty she looked, he knew it must have been pretty bad.

"… Well…" Lisanna mumbled, finally looking up into Elfman's eyes with a frown. "We turned in the mission when it was finished, and the mayor told us that the forest was protected with hundreds of species of endangered wildlife. That it was slotted to become a wildlife preserve of sorts in the next few weeks, and that was why they needed those monsters gone. There was so much damage done to the forest that we didn't get anything for a reward."

"That sucks… Next time I'm sure it'll be better though!" Elfman said proudly.

"Yeah, if there's even going to  _be_  a next time," Lisanna whispered sadly as she glanced at the doors, wondering why it was taking Lucy and Natsu so long to get to the guild. "We took the mission because it had a good reward, and there was a gate key that Lucy really wanted. The requestor said it was everyone on the team's fault for the damage, and that we wouldn't be getting  _any_  of the reward… Not even the key… She was so upset with Natsu that  _she_  knocked him out before we were even on the train to come back to town…"

"And Gray?"

Lisanna giggled slightly and said, "He started laughing about how easily Natsu was knocked out by Lucy… and she hit him over the head with one of Erza's suitcases. I just hope she's calmed down a little by the time she—" Lisanna stopped and stared wide-eyed at the door as a limp head of pink hair made an appearance.

"Natsu, I'm gonna kill you one of these days," Lucy growled, pausing in her entrance into the guild to heft Natsu's body higher on her back. He groaned in discomfort and she rolled her eyes, blowing her hair out of her face and slowly stalking towards the bar. "If you barf on me, I'm gonna have Virgo shove ice up your ass for a week straight!" she shouted when he groaned again.

Elfman let out a booming laugh and shouted, "Lucy's a real man!" He grinned when the sweet blonde turned to look at him, her deep scowl giving way to the warm smile she always greeted their guild mates with. He didn't know Lucy all that well, but Lisanna liked her and that was enough for him to know that she was a pretty awesome chick. Sure, he'd been on her team during the games, and he'd seen how fiercely she fought from time to time, but there wasn't much else that he knew.

When Lucy heard a sickening gurgling noise coming from Natsu's stomach, followed by a suppressed belch, she screeched and threw him to the ground, vaulting over a table or two and not caring who saw up her skirt. Just as she reached the bar, scrambling over it and scraping her knees in the process, Natsu finally expelled the contents of his stomach. Sixteen whole fire chickens, three cases of hot peppers, and a gallon of sweetened tea. "THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T EAT BEFORE WE GET ON A TRAIN!" Lucy screamed from her hiding place behind an utterly unflappable Mira who, for her part, looked as though this was the most normal thing in the world.

"Luuuuce," Natsu groaned.

"NO! You stay away from me, Pukey McFirePants! I'm still mad at you!"

Lisanna laughed and sighed happily. "Ten jewels says she forgives him before the day is out."

Elfman chuckled and shook his little sister's petite hand. "She'll make him wait until at least tomorrow."

* * *

After the insanity of the morning, and feeling a little more at ease now that Lisanna was back safe and sound from her mission, Elfman took a deep breath and gave himself a small internal pep-talk before even moving away from his spot at the bar. Evergreen was still surrounded by her team. Hell, even  _Laxus_  was sitting with them instead of being holed up in his office like he usually was as of late.  _'You can do this,'_  he told himself.  _'Just man up, and ask her on a date. You guys were great together on Tenrou. She forgave you for not being manly enough to protect her. She stayed by your side in the infirmary during the games… You've got this in the bag. No one would turn down a real man!'_

"Elfman," Mira said softly, "Is everything alright? You look a little pale…"

Elfman quickly shook his head to clear away the last of his doubts, then grinned at his older sister. "I'm gonna do it," he said firmly. If he had any doubts, they could easily be dispelled by the number of times he'd heard random people in the guild mentioning that he and Evergreen should just get together already since it was obvious they liked each other. If other people saw that she liked him, then that was a good sign, right?

"Do what?" Mira asked, cocking her head to the side and narrowing her eyes at him slightly.

"You'll see, Mira. Wish me luck!" Elfman said, taking one last deep breath before standing from his barstool and taking long strides over to the Raijinshuu's table.

Lucy paused in her conversation with Lisanna and smiled softly at the largely muscled back of her friend's older brother. "He's gonna ask her out?" she whispered excitedly as her eyes glimmered with happiness.

Lisanna gaped at the sight of Elfman fearlessly walking over to the girl he'd been pining over for months. "I-I guess he is… M-Mira?"

Mira may not have been overly excited about what little 'EverElf' babies would look like, with their Elfman-like faces, flowing blonde hair that was somehow a mixture between her little brother's wild spiked hairstyle and Evergreen's soft curls, with Elfman's eyes and Evergreen's glasses… But, the fact that her brother was taking a chance and finding the courage to finally tell the Fairy mage that he liked her had filled Mira with pride. "As long as he's happy, I'm happy," she said sweetly, meaning every word of it.

"Took him long enough," Lucy said with a wistful sigh. "Too bad I can't find a guy to sweep me off my feet…" She sighed again and propped an elbow on the bar, lazily laying her head in her hand.

"Oh?" Mira asked a little too quickly. "Anyone in mind, Lucy?"

Lucy blanched and quickly waved her hands in front of her face, trying to dispel the evil matchmaking gleam in the barmaid's eyes that only spelled trouble and weeks of hints about pink-haired, brown-eyed babies. "No! No one in particular, Mira!"

"I still think you and Natsu would—"

Lucy frowned and put her hands on her hips. "I will  _never_  like Natsu as anything more than my best friend, Mira Jane Strauss! You get those sick little fantasies out of your head, this instant!"

Lisanna's jaw dropped and she blinked repeatedly while gaping at Lucy. "R-Really?" she asked incredulously. "I thought…"

Lucy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, then shook her head and smiled at Lisanna. "I couldn't even  _begin_  to fathom handling Natsu in my life more than he already is… I'm pretty sure I'd have an aneurysm by the end of the week if I even entertained the notion of dating him. Besides," she paused and smirked before turning her attention to the newly forming couple, watching as Elfman stopped just next to the table and grinned nervously at Evergreen. "I heard that Natsu likes girls with much lighter hair than mine."

"Oh?" Mira asked, leaning her elbows on the bar and staring intently at Lucy. "Where did you hear that from?"

Lucy giggled and said, "Mira, you should know just how much information a few fish can get you…"

* * *

"Hey, Evergreen!" Elfman said with a wide grin, forcing his nerves to leave him as he stood so close to the three men that the girl of his dreams was closest to. All four members of the Raijinshuu were staring at him, each of them looking both bored and slightly surprised by his appearance by their table without the assistance of a guild brawl sending him flying their way. Freed paused in reading his book, Bickslow had stopped mid-sentence in a conversation with his totems, Laxus cracked one eye open while keeping his sound pod over his ears, and Evergreen huffed and raised a thin, condescending brow in his direction. "Hey, so uh… Do you think I could talk to you for a minute?"

Evergreen rolled her eyes and waved with her fan, motioning for Elfman to continue.

"Right," Elfman said, chuckling and focusing all of his attention on the woman in front of him instead of the countless stares he was accumulating. "S-So… I was thinking. Maybe, you'd… If you wanted to… uh… It'd be  _super_  manly if you'd let me… um… Take you out on a date…?"

Evergreen blinked once, twice, then narrowed her eyes at the hulking white-haired man in front of her. "Why?" she asked coldly, flapping her fan agitatedly in front of her face and hiding most of it from view.

"Huh? OH! Well, you know," Elfman chuckled again, feeling his palms beginning to pour sweat the longer he stood there without a definitive answer. His whole body was alight with his nerves firing off, and not in a good way at all. There was something screaming in the back of his head that he should have insisted that she talk with him somewhere in private, that way… just in case this didn't end well… it wouldn't be in front of everyone. Then again, it wasn't a very manly thing to take a woman somewhere all alone when she wasn't your girlfriend yet. "I uh… I like you a lot. And, I figured I needed to man up and ask you out, so you knew… I mean, I'd like to take you on more than one date, but… Well, yeah. You'd have to say 'yes' for that… So… Do you, um… Do you wanna go out with me?"

Laxus cracked his other eye open and watched Evergreen's interaction with Elfman carefully. He, along with Bickslow and Freed (the latter begrudgingly having been dragged kicking and screaming into the conversation between the other two males), were all firm believers that Elfman and Evergreen would be getting together in no time with how close they'd gotten during GMG. It was only a matter of time before the big muscular Strauss got up the nerve to ask her out, and they were—although they would never admit it aloud—waiting with bated breath to see how she was going to tell him 'yes'.

Evergreen scoffed and closed her fan while she slowly stood to her feet. Pushing her glasses a little higher on her nose with a haughty smirk on her face, she crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a hip out to one side while she said, "What makes you think I'd  _want_  to go out with someone like you?"

Elfman's eyes widened before he nervously chuckled again, swallowing to try and relieve the sudden desert that had swept through his throat. "Well, um… I figured, or hoped really… That maybe you like me like I'd like you to like me… That is, that you like me like I like you…"

Evergreen's eyebrows rose minutely, then she frowned and poked the center of Elfman's chest with her closed fan. "Listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once," she said, pushing him away from her with pressure from her fan against his sternum, and watching as he took a slow step backwards. "The Queen of the Fairies shouldn't be seen socializing with oafish  _barbarians_  that can't go more than a minute without spiraling into a testosterone-induced yelling match about masculinity."

A round of gasps could be heard throughout the guild, everyone sitting on the edges of their seats while they watched Elfman's infectious smile slowly fade into a look of utter confusion. No one had seen  _that_ coming from the Fairy mage. Sure, Evergreen could be a little callous at times, condescending with a serious superiority complex even, but she'd gotten much better about it since Laxus' banishment for the Fantasia incident, and even more so with his reinstatement into the guild. This was on a whole other level, and was very reminiscent of the kind of person she used to be before she and her team had plotted to overthrow Makarov as guildmaster.

Elfman felt a small piece of his heart crack when he heard her. Evergreen sounded so angry right then in a way he hadn't seen her in a long time. She usually scolded him for things, got aggravated with him, or even beat him over the head with her fan, but she  _never_  acted like this towards him. "I-I don't understand…" he whispered, his brow furrowing as he fought back the tears that were stinging the backs of his eyes.

"Of  _course_  you don't," Evergreen huffed. "Idiot…"

Mira and Lisanna were scowling at Evergreen, practically able to feel just how much her rejection was affecting their sweet brother. Not many people could tell when Elfman was upset about something the way the other two Strauss siblings could. There was a certain slump to his broad shoulders, the way his hands relaxed completely, the soft and almost imperceptible catch in his voice as he fought back the tears that always came so easily to him. Elfman cared with all of his heart about anyone and everyone he met, and he would protect them with everything he was worth. When it came to himself, though… He didn't know how to handle stressful situations. He had buried his own needs for so long—always worrying about Mira and Lisanna's wellbeing, making sure they were never taken advantage of, being the 'man of the house' for them, acting as a huge shoulder to cry on when they had a bad day, holding the both of them in his massive arms when there was a thunderstorm because both of the girls were terrified of them—that when he finally tried to do something more that was solely for himself, and it didn't work out for one reason or another… He always retreated further into the, as Evergreen put it, 'testosterone-induced yelling match about masculinity.' It was just his way of coping with things so people didn't see him crying when he was truly hurt.

Elfman had been holding out hope that maybe Evergreen was just being stubborn or difficult like she usually was around him. But, as her words nestled themselves within him, the cracks in his heart grew and grew until it felt as though one more word from her could shatter his very existence. "S-So, you… You  _don't_  wanna go out… with me?" he whispered.

With an agitated glare and a swift smack from her fan, Evergreen shouted, "NO! I  _will never_  want to go out with an idiot like YOU with more muscles than brains! Why can't you get that through your thick skull? Just go off and do whatever the hell it is you do, and leave me al—"

A loud smack resounded through the otherwise silent guild, followed by the sound of Evergreen crashing backwards into the Raijinshuu's table with her hand held to her face. Everyone's eyes honed in on a dainty hand, and moved slowly up to a slender, pale wrist. An equally feminine arm, heaving chest, and finally… The scowling and utterly terrifying visage of one furious Lucy Heartfilia. Not a single person moved, too shocked by the fact that  _Lucy_  of all people had struck Evergreen in the first place and that she'd knocked the brunette down with the hit. Dozens of eyes shot from the burning chocolate eyes down to the still extended hand that very clearly held a light pink Fairy Tail guild mark and back up.

"How  _dare_  you?" Lucy seethed as she stood between Elfman and Evergreen, narrowing her eyes when the Fairy mage stood up with wide eyes, still holding a hand to the large red mark on her face. "Some 'Queen of the Fairies' you are! You're just a cold heartless bitch, Evergreen! The least you could have done was let him down easily, and  _IN PRIVATE_!" Lucy sneered and took a step forward, feeling her anger with Natsu over their train wreck of a mission spilling over into this situation as she moved until she was only a hairsbreadth from Evergreen's nose, her heaving and rage-filled breaths slightly fogging the other woman's glasses. "I don't know who you  _think_  you are to make it okay to treat someone like that, but you'd better get past your little self-induced delusion and hop on over to reality.  _No one_  deserves to be treated like a piece of garbage on the bottom of your shoe, because you're no better than  _anyone else_." Lucy brought her hands up and roughly pushed Evergreen into her previously vacated seat and sent her one last glare. "You're pathetic… And to think, there are people that are stupid enough to look up to someone like you…"

Lucy whirled around, her face still showing the fury lurking just beneath the surface, and looked up at Elfman. His gaze was distant as though he was in shock, but he looked utterly defeated right then. She ached to comfort the big guy, just like she did when any of her guild mates were in pain. Deciding that she was going to take it upon herself to help him get through what was very clearly something heartbreaking, Lucy firmed her resolve and slowly grabbed the still-silent muscled man's hand that easily dwarfed her own. "You're coming with me," she whispered gently as she led him over to the bar to stand in front of Mira and Lisanna.

"L-Lucy?" Lisanna whispered, noticing that the blonde's hand was still tightly gripping her brother's while his remained lax. Elfman didn't even seem to realize that he had moved from the Raijinshuu's table, his eyes wide and already beginning to shine with the tears he wanted to shed over how devastated he was. She couldn't understand why Evergreen would say anything like that to her sweet brother, or even what had compelled Lucy to step in on his behalf. Lucy was one of Lisanna's best friends in the guild, but they hadn't had very much time for the blonde to really get to know Mira and Elfman the way she would have if Lisanna had been around when Lucy joined. The fact that Lucy had even gotten in the middle of it, had actually  _struck_  Evergreen for being so heartless, had Lisanna floored to think she had gained such a wonderful person as a friend.

Lucy smiled sadly and pulled a folded piece of paper from the small pocket in her skirt. "Mira, can you put me and Elfman down for this mission?" she whispered. "I saw it before the team left on that last mission, and grabbed it today. I just needed to find a partner that wouldn't destroy the place…"

"A-Are you sure?" Mira asked softly as she looked over the request, a soft smile gracing her face when she realized just how perfect the mission really was for Elfman. It was something that suited who he was inside, instead of overly masculine as he portrayed himself to be, and she couldn't help but feel grateful that Lucy was taking it upon herself to help him. "Lisanna can help him—"

Lucy turned to look up at Elfman, her sad smile still in place until she saw the tell-tale shine in his brilliant blue eyes. Gently squeezing the gigantic hand with her slender fingers to try and comfort the dazed man, Lucy nodded as she turned back to the Strauss sisters. "I'm sure, Mira. It'll take a week or two, and he could use the time away. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning." Sending one last glance at Elfman, Lucy quickly added, "We should really get going before…"

Mira looked worriedly at Elfman, noticing just how upset he really was by what had happened, and blinked away her tears and anger until he was well out of hearing distance before her wrath was wrought on the woman who had broken his heart. She smiled at Lucy and nodded, signing off on the request, then turned to Lisanna and said, "Go pack his stuff, Lissy."

"But—" Lisanna started, only to be cut off by Lucy.

"He can stay at my place tonight, if that's alright with you guys." Lucy saw both Mira and Lisanna blinking back tears as they nodded. She took the request back from Mira, tucking it back into her pocket, then said, "I'll leave the door unlocked, okay Lis? Just come on in whenever." When Lisanna nodded again, Lucy turned to Elfman and saw that he was still utterly detached from reality. "Come on, Elfman. I'll go make you some tea at my place, and we'll talk," she whispered as she led the huge man out of the still-silent guild. All she could hope was that he would eventually be alright. She didn't know Elfman that well, but there had always been a certain softness to him that she had admired—wondering how the guy could be the most boisterous guild member, and still seem as though a butterfly could bring him to tears from time to time.  _'Maybe it's just a Strauss thing to be a sweetheart inside,'_  Lucy thought as she carefully led Elfman to her home.

* * *

Lucy sighed as she unlocked the door to her apartment, opening the door and finally letting go of Elfman's hand once they were inside with the door closed behind them. She placed a gentle hand on his lower back, which was only a few inches short of being in line with her shoulders, and steered him towards her couch. "Elfman?" she whispered as soon as he was seated with his elbows resting on his knees and his head bowed.

No response.

"Elfman, you know you can talk to me if you need to, right?" Lucy asked softly. When he still didn't respond, she smiled sadly and patted his enormous shoulder. "I'll go make us some tea. Let me know if you need anything." With that she walked off into the kitchen, her heart aching for the man sitting on her couch.

He couldn't believe it. This whole day had to be some sort of crazy dream—more like nightmare—that he just hadn't woken up from yet. He'd had a few dreams like this one before. He'd get up the courage to ask Evergreen out, and she would tell him 'no'. That was where he usually woke up though, panting and sweating with his heart pounding because it was one of the few things he feared the most. Evergreen's rejection ranked only under his sisters' dying, him not being able to protect his sisters, spiders, and being a failure as a man. So, it still ranked in the top five things that terrified him.  _'This is a messed up dream,'_  he thought absently,  _'Lucy's never come to my rescue in a dream before… Why haven't I woken up yet?'_

When the first of his tears finally broke free, Elfman was surprised to say the least. It wasn't that he wasn't accustomed to tears. Crying was something he'd done a lot of before Lisanna had been sucked into Edolas that day he thought he killed her. He'd done a good bit of crying afterwards, too. That is, until he realized that she was gone because he wasn't enough of a man to keep the beast's soul in check, and his sister got hurt. Lisanna and Mira had both been able to manage full-body takeovers pretty quickly, and it had just left him in the dust. He was the middle kid, but even his baby sister had surpassed him. Granted, he and Lisanna had decided to learn Takeover magic to begin with so that Mira wouldn't feel like a pariah even after they were essentially driven out of their hometown because she took a demon's form. They had been a support system for one another, even after coming to Fairy Tail. After Lisanna was gone, he decided to become the man he should have been all along. And now his heart had shattered because he had tried to be a man and ask the girl of his dreams out.

He just couldn't understand what was wrong with him. When the tears came, he knew for a fact that he wasn't dreaming. Evergreen had really rejected him in front of the whole guild. She had really said all of those things about him, and that she wouldn't be interested in 'someone like him'… Wasn't he good enough? Wasn't it every girl's dream to find a man that would sweep her off of her feet, and be everything she could ever want out of life?  _'I guess… I guess I'm not manly enough for that either…'_

A set of ten little toes adorned with hot pink nail polish came into Elfman's line of sight, making him furrow his brow. Lisanna never painted her toes pink, only shades of blue, and Mira hated nail polish. Slowly lifting his gaze and following a pair of pale, slender legs up to a blue mini-skirt that he vaguely recognized. Once he saw exposed hips and the woman's belly button, Elfman's eyes skipped over the rest of her until they were drawn in by a pair of understanding, deep brown eyes.

"Hey, I made us some tea," Lucy said softly, ignoring the constant stream of tears that poured down Elfman's face.

"I-I…" He was at a complete loss for words. The last thing he really remembered was Evergreen ripping into him, and then… Then Lucy  _slapped_  her. Everything was really just a blur after that. He'd been completely shocked that his baby sister's best friend had jumped in and actually struck the Fairy mage, and since Lucy didn't seem to be hurt or made of stone, he could only assume that Evergreen or the Raijinshuu didn't retaliate. He didn't really think they would do something like that anyway, since that whole team had really gotten their priorities in order since that whole Fantasia thing. "Where…"

Lucy giggled softly and turned to hand Elfman his cup of tea, already knowing that he only drank green tea with honey in it—since Lisanna always complained about how gross it tasted when he wouldn't let her drink anything else on missions with him—then said, "I talked with your sisters, then brought you to my place. I figured you might wanna be away from the guild for a little while. Drink up… It might help a little."

Elfman just blinked, staying completely silent aside from the occasional sniffle to keep his mucus to himself, then carefully took the cup from Lucy. He watched from the corner of his eye as she sat down on the couch next to him and daintily sipped her tea with a smile on her face. She didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular, but she wasn't in a daze either. He took a small sip of his tea, and sighed when the wonderful combination of green tea leaves mixed with honey burst across his tongue. Another small giggle turned his attention back to the blonde, and he saw her smiling up at him.

"Lisanna told me."

He didn't know exactly what she meant at first, because he knew that Lucy had been there for his very un-manly public rejection. Then it dawned on him that she was talking about the tea. Lisanna must have told Lucy about how he likes his tea, but he couldn't understand why. Instead of saying anything, not trusting his voice in the slightest, and definitely not wanting to make a bigger fool out of himself, Elfman just nodded and stared into the slowly draining liquid of his cup while he finished it over the next few minutes.

Lucy didn't really know what to say to him, so she let him sit in silence. She did know that sometimes all you really needed was having someone there in case you wanted to talk, not that they really had to say anything. Still, she felt like maybe he just didn't know where to start. It's not like she had much experience with matters of the heart in the first place, since she had never even dated someone. She could definitely empathize though—that was one of her strong suits. Putting herself in Elfman's shoes, Lucy imagined just how devastated she would be if she'd had a crush on someone for a long time, and finally got the courage to ask him out… Only to have him publicly humiliate her in front of all of their friends in the guild by tearing into her own self-esteem. Dig after dig at how she acted or what he thought was wrong with her. Being called an idiot…

Elfman slowly put the cup down on the table once his tea was gone and stared at his hands for only a moment before he heard Lucy taking a shaky breath as she set her own cup of tea down. Furrowing his brow, he turned to look at the petite blonde and was thoroughly surprised to see her crying. "What happened?" he asked, deciding that maybe he could just ignore the pain in his heart if it meant that he could help someone else. It had always worked for him before—just pushing his own problems to the side to help anyone that needed it.

Lucy gave Elfman a watery smile, then shot to her feet before dashing into the kitchen. She grabbed a box of tissues from the counter and walked back into the living room, dabbing her eyes and nose. After setting the box down in front of the hulking man, who was sporting a thoroughly confused and concerned expression, Lucy smiled at him again.

"Who made you cry, Lucy?" Elfman asked. "It's not manly to make women cry…"

"No one," Lucy whispered. She finally realized just how big Elfman was as he sat on her couch. Even though she was standing only a foot or so away from him, his head was nearly level with hers. When she saw that he was about to question her more, Lucy shook her head and reminded herself that she was going to help him get through this. She moved slowly as though he was a wild animal, and was finally standing between his knees while he followed her every movement. "I was just thinking about how I would feel if that happened to me… If… If I had my heart ripped out in front of everyone," she whispered. Once the words had left her mouth, Lucy saw Elfman's face fall. Gone was his concern for her, along with his confusion. He was only left with new tears and his mouth pressed into a thin line while he tried to hold back his emotions.

"I-I'll be fine," Elfman choked out, dropping his head to keep Lucy from thinking he was even less of a man for crying.

"You will," Lucy said softly as she leaned down while bringing her hands to his cheeks. She slowly lifted his head, and once his teary blue eyes met with her own tear-filled brown ones, Lucy continued. "I promise. You'll be fine, and I'll help in any way I can." Her thumbs lightly caressed his strong jaw, and she heard the small hitch in his breath. Without another thought, Lucy moved forward and hugged him with her arms around his neck and her face unintentionally buried in his spiky white hair. "It's okay to cry, Elfman," she whispered soothingly. "You don't have to hide it. It's okay."

As if that was all he needed to hear, Elfman let out a strangled sob before his enormous arms barred around Lucy's small frame and pulled her more tightly to himself. The dam had officially burst, and there was nothing he could do to stop the torrential flow of his own tears while he finally just let everything out. She was right. Evergreen had ripped his heart out, walked all over it, turned it to stone and then smashed it with a hammer. He didn't know anything could be this painful, the emptiness that filled him in the wake of the Fairy mage's wrath on his affection for her, but he never wanted to feel like this again. "I-I don't… Understand," he cried. "Wh-Why would… sh-she…"

"Shhh," Lucy whispered soothingly, running her fingers through his hair the same way she did with Natsu while they were on a train to soothe his motion sickness at least a little. "I don't understand it either."

Elfman continued to brokenly question what had happened to make Evergreen hate him, what he could have done wrong. He wondered if he shouldn't have asked her out that way, or if maybe he and everyone had read the signs wrong. No matter what he did, Lucy just held him and whispered softly, saying that things would work out, that she would help him figure it out, and that he could let everything out. She encouraged him to just keep crying his eyes out, and he thought he even heard a smile in her voice. Finally, after a long while with no signs of his tears slowing, Elfman started to pull himself away from Lucy's comforting hold. "I-I should… I should get g-going," he muttered lamely. "You didn't have to do all this…"

Lucy tightened her hold on Elfman, and rubbed slow circles of the portions of his upper back and shoulders she could reach. "It's fine," she whispered, "I told you, you can let everything out, Elfman. Don't worry."

"Why are you d-doing this?" Elfman muttered as he melted back into her embrace.

Lucy giggled and said, "Well, I don't like seeing anyone in pain. Plus, your Lis' older brother, and she's one of my best friends." She paused and smiled softly, then added, "Besides, you looked like you could really use a friend."

Elfman nodded and tightened his grip on Lucy only marginally—already knowing that his increased strength from those three months of intensive training before the games meant he had to be extremely careful now. "It's because I'm… I'm not manly enough… isn't it?" he whispered.

Lucy frowned and picked her head up, pushing Elfman back until he met her gaze. "That has absolutely  _nothing_  to do with it," she said gently. "If Evergreen can't see just how manly you are, then it's her loss."

Elfman shook his head in defeat and looked away from Lucy's intense gaze. "No, she thinks I'm an idiot…" He sighed and felt his shoulders slumping even further as he added, "I  _am_  an idiot… Thinking I'd be able to date someone like her…"

Lucy smiled down at Elfman, forcing his head up to meet her gaze once again. "Nah," she whispered playfully, "You're a real man! She's the idiot for not seeing it."

Elfman felt just a small smile turning up one corner of his mouth when Lucy laid his head back on her shoulder. She didn't expect him to say anything in response. All she was doing was giving him a safe place to let everything out, not just in the confines of her own apartment, but with her. He was heartbroken, and feeling as though nothing could ever help mend those shattered remains of his heart… But, Lucy was willing to help him figure out how to get through it. "Thanks, Lucy," he whispered gratefully when her fingers sifted through his hair again.  _'Who knew Lucy could be so manly?'_ he thought, allowing himself to find comfort in the arms of his little sister's best friend, and maybe… maybe even his own friend.

 


	2. Lucy's Apartment

 

Laxus blinked repeatedly, trying to get his brain to register exactly what he'd witnessed. He barely heard the guild doors closing when Lucy led Elfman out of the building, and instead just stared at his teammate like she had grown six heads. Not only had Evergreen turned down the guy she had the hots for, she'd done it in true 'uber-bitch' fashion. She'd cut so deeply into Elfman that Laxus didn't even know what he could possibly say to her. Add onto that startling development the fact that  _Lucy_ —Natsu's blonde and slightly ditzy teammate—had just smacked the living shit out of Evergreen, ripped into her for being a bitch, and then stormed off after shoving the woman into her seat. Still, Laxus had no words. Luckily for him, Bickslow had a metric fuck-ton of words, and absolutely no filter.

"Okay, what in the actual fuck just happened?" Bickslow asked, breaking the guild's silence. As one, everyone turned back to the own tables, mostly likely to discuss in 'private' what they'd seen unfold. He kept his eyes locked on Evergreen, even though she couldn't really see them past the metal grate of his visor. When he spoke again, Bickslow's voice was much softer, keeping their conversation private for the time being. "I thought you were ready to jump all over Elfman's manmeat, Ever. What gives?"

Evergreen shook herself from her stupor and glared at Bickslow. "That's none of your business," she spat.

"Well, didja have to tell him like  _that_?" Bickslow pressed. "I mean, come on… I know I blurt out whatever's on my mind, but even  _I_  think that was harsh…"

"I concur," Freed said as he glanced at how intensely Mira was scrubbing down the bar top. "That was very uncharacteristic behavior for you in regards to him."

"Drop it," Evergreen huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and directed her glare at the top of their table.

"I'm not gonna—" Bickslow started, only to be interrupted by Laxus.

"Drop it, Bix," Laxus sighed, turning to Evergreen once Bickslow's mouth snapped shut. "Look, you do whatever the fuck you're gonna do with your shit, I really don't fucking care. As long as you don't get hurt, that's your business."

"Thank you," Evergreen said pointedly.

"I'm not done." Laxus narrowed his eyes at Evergreen, then shook his head sadly. "You can do what you want, but what just happened… You deserved more than Blondie smacking you around." When Evergreen gasped and looked up at him in shock, he couldn't help but sigh again. "I don't know what's going on in your head, since we all know you like him. But you just tore the guy down in front of  _everyone_. You humiliated him, and all he wanted was to take you out on a date. So… Assuming you live through the day, sort your shit out."

"Live through the day?" Evergreen asked slowly.

"I believe Laxus is referring to the fact that Mira and Lisanna are on their way over here, and they do not look particularly happy with you right now," Freed said nervously.

"Yeah," Bickslow shuddered his agreement, "She's gonna go Satan Soul on your ass, Ever. You broke her little brother's heart…"

Laxus sighed and adjusted his headphones. "You're on your own, Ever. You made your bed, time to lie in it." With that, he turned his music up to drown out the agonized cries of his brunette teammate that he knew would be happening any minute now.

"Too bad my bed's made out of broken glass and razors," Evergreen muttered to herself, "And sitting inside of a juicer at a lemonade stand…"

Lisanna carefully set down the tray that held the Raijinshuu's lunch orders, passing them out to everyone while Mira stood silently behind her and glared at Evergreen. When the Fairy mage warily eyed her own meal, Lisanna sighed and said, "Mira didn't touch your food, Evergreen. Besides, it's not like we're going to poison you for making our brother feel like the dumbest piece of crap in all of Earthland for finally getting up the nerve to ask you out."

When Evergreen flinched and cast her gaze down at the table, Mira's frown deepened as she clenched her fists at her sides. "She's right," she said slowly, barely noticing how Freed and Bickslow carefully inched away from the brunette and closer to Laxus. "I wouldn't mess with your order for breaking my little brother's heart, or for making him cry. I  _definitely_  wouldn't try to  _poison_  you for crushing his spirit when he finally decided to do something for himself for a change. I mean, what's the point in hurting you when the damage is already done? I'm not going to hurt you, Evergreen. I think you've done enough of that already."

"Look, I…" Evergreen's words died in her throat when she looked up at the two white-haired women with tears shining in their eyes.

"What's the matter?" Lisanna asked. "Don't have anything else to say now that your punching bag is gone? I don't know what he saw in you in the first place, but I seriously hope that your little bitch-fit today doesn't make Elfman give up on relationships altogether. I don't think you realize just how much it took for him to even come talk to you, let alone ask you out even when you were acting like that."

"He's been terrified of this exact thing happening, you know," Mira added. "Lisanna and I have been telling him for months that he didn't need to worry so much about it… So, thanks for that. If you weren't interested, you could have told him that you should talk in private." Mira stopped and took a deep breath, then shook her head sadly. "Lucy was right… I can't believe there are people that are stupid enough to look up to you either…"

"Lucy included," Lisanna said with a sigh as she pulled the tray to her chest. "She always looked up to you, y'know. She told me that even before joining the guild, she thought you were amazing. She always said, 'Look at her, she's part of  _The Raijinshuu_. I mean, talk about being able to hold your own when you're teamed up with  _those_  powerhouses.'" Lisanna sighed again and turned to walk away, then paused. "Lucy thought that you were the embodiment of a Fairy Tail mage, especially with the type of magic you use. You didn't just hurt my big brother today… What you did… My best friend just found out that the woman she's admired for a long time, and part of the reason she wanted to join Fairy Tail in the first place, is  _nothing_  like she thought. So, congratulations Evergreen."

Evergreen gaped at Lisanna's back as the youngest Strauss made her way silently back to the bar. She watched as Lisanna placed the tray on the counter, then shook her head sadly at Natsu when he asked her what was wrong. Within minutes, Lisanna was smiling and not-so-reluctantly being dragged out of the guild by the Slayer.

"Do you wanna know what the worst part of it all is?" Mira asked softly once Lisanna was out of the guild. She turned her saddened eyes back to Evergreen and whispered, "Lucy will probably forgive you right away… Elfman too… That's just how they are, even if you don't deserve it for hurting them. I don't know what made you say those things to my baby brother, but he's the sweetest, most gentle man I've ever met… He deserves so much better than someone like you."

The Raijinshuu watched Mira turn and make her way back to the bar, and Freed cleared his throat while he turned to the rest of his team. "If you will excuse me, I need to make sure she will be alright," he said softly. Laxus nodded only once, and Freed made his way over to the silent barmaid. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, then smiled and led her through the doors into the kitchen. Once they were out of hearing range for everyone except the three remaining Dragon Slayers—because, honestly, they would have to go halfway across Magnolia to be out of earshot—Freed held Mira close and pressed his lips to her hair. "Everything will be fine, Mira," he whispered while she clutched herself tightly to him and cried for her brother.

"Why did it have to be  _her_?" Mira whispered brokenly.

"She really isn't that bad… I'm not sure what came over her today though," Freed replied.

"Too bad Elfman didn't fall in love with someone more like him…"

* * *

Elfman sighed when the last his tears finally fell, and didn't know how he could possibly express just how grateful he was that Lucy had been there for him. He had never realized just how nice Lucy was. Sure, Lisanna had told him stories about how the bubbly blonde was always able to make everyone smile, and he'd seen her getting people to relax before fights escalated in the guild, but he'd never known that Lucy was  _this_  nice.

"Feel a little better?" Lucy whispered when the enormous shoulders she was lightly running one hand over finally stopped shuddering. When Elfman silently nodded, letting out another long sigh but not moving away from her shoulder, Lucy couldn't help but giggle a little bit. "Well, it's getting close to dinner time," she continued as she eyed the clock. "Is there anything I need to know about your food preferences before I get started?"

"Huh?" Elfman asked, furrowing his brow and slowly lifting his head from the utterly soaked petite shoulder. He turned to look at the kind and endearing brown eyes of the sweet woman who had helped him, then said, "I should head back to the guild… I told Mira I'd help her with the dinner rush tonight."

"Nope," Lucy giggled again, mischief dancing in her eyes. "I told Mira and Lis that you could stay here tonight so we could leave on our mission tomorrow."

"Mission?" Elfman asked incredulously. "What mission?"

"Well," Lucy said slowly, moving to sit next to him on the couch when his arms finally unwound themselves from her waist. She grabbed a few tissues and moved to kneel next to Elfman, then started blotting away the remaining moisture from his cheeks. "I was planning on finding someone to go on a mission with me so I could pay my rent. Long story short: Natsu's an idiot, and we didn't get a reward. After what happened today, I figured you might not want to be in the guild too much while you sort everything out, and had Mira put us down for a mission I'd picked out."

"Are you sure you wanna go on a mission with me?" Elfman asked softly. "We've only ever worked together on that first day during the games…"

Lucy nodded happily. "Of course! Lisanna's always telling me about how much fun you two have on missions, and how you don't destroy everything you  _breathe on_ … It'll be fun to work with someone else for a change." When she saw how uncertain Elfman still felt, she sighed softly and pulled the request form from her pocket. "Mira looked it over, and she seemed to approve of the mission. How about you decide for yourself if you wanna go? If you're not feeling up to it, then I can find someone else to go with me—since I don't think I can handle this on my own. I won't hold it against you if you don't wanna go. You need to do what's best for yourself right now."

Elfman carefully unfolded the request form, then read through the information provided by the client again… and again… and again. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and a smile stretched across his face when he realized just  _why_  Mira hadn't been against him taking this mission with Lucy when he was so upset.

"Plus, it's probably not one you'd really want to take anyway," Lucy mumbled while she stared at the ground sheepishly, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious over the fact that she'd essentially forced her way into Elfman's daily life because she figured he needed someone's help. That could very well not be the case, and she didn't want him to feel obligated to do anything when she was the one that hadn't even asked his opinion on the matter to begin with—regardless of how catatonic he'd been at the time. "I'm not really one for fighting if I don't have to, and my team is  _always_  taking fighting missions—or making them into fighting missions… So, I just kinda wanted something a little more… Tame, maybe?"

"This is the manliest mission ever," Elfman said, laughing when Lucy's head shot up and she gaped at him. He saw her smile shining back once she heard his laughter, her eyes softening just a little, then said, "I actually love doing this kind of stuff. I do usually take fighting missions, but that's more for training. This one… It's more of a hobby of mine."

"A hobby?" Lucy asked. "Really? So… You're not going to burn everything down just by walking through the door… or crush everything in your path because you can't find a knife… or… Well, just overall destruction and anarchy, I guess…"

"Nope, none of those things. I'll prove it," Elfman countered.

"How?"

"How about you go and take a bath so you're not covered in man-tears, and I'll handle the rest?" Elfman offered.

Lucy was about to object, having had too many horrible experiences in the past to even begin to let Elfman have his way and prove that he could handle the mission, but the hopeful look in his eyes melted her will to fight it. He'd laughed, smiled, and wanted to do something that he really enjoyed. Who was she to stop him when it seemed like he was making a move in the right direction concerning his heartbreaking day? "Alright," Lucy said, sticking her hand out and giggling when Elfman's enveloped hers while they shook hands. "This should be interesting…"

Elfman smiled while he watched Lucy get up and make her way towards what he assumed was her bedroom. Only a minute later, she returned with a small pile of clothing and disappeared into the bathroom after giving him a sweet smile. With one deep breath, Elfman stood to his feet and genuinely smiled. Mira knew that this mission itself would most likely cheer him up, even just a little, but he could tell that Lucy would help him work through what he was dealing with even during the mission. Elfman pulled a folded bandanna from the back pocket of his pants and slipped it over his head so that his hair was pulled away from his face, then took a single look around Lucy's place before he got to work.

* * *

"Laxus?" Evergreen whispered after sitting in silence and staring at the table for over an hour. She glanced up at her blond teammate, and saw that he still had his headphones on, but had cracked one eye open to look at her. "Can I talk to you…?"

"Mm-hmm," Laxus mumbled, closing his eyes again and pretending to listen to his music like he usually did when the guild wasn't too loud.

"In your office?"

Laxus raised an eyebrow at her, took in the slump to her shoulders and her downward cast eyes, then sighed and stood up. Without a word, knowing Evergreen would follow him, Laxus made his way to his office and sat down at his desk. Once the door was closed and locked behind her, he took off his headphones while Evergreen slumped into the chair across from him. "What?"

Evergreen flinched and nervously twisted her fan in her hands. "I made a mistake…" she whispered. "I shouldn't have talked to him that way…"

"Then  _why_  did you do it?"

"I-I was embarrassed… and… and I didn't want everyone in our business."

"That's not exactly a good reason to rip the guy's heart out, Ever," Laxus frowned, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the solid oak desk. "You've been bitchy to him before, but never like that."

"I… I know…" Evergreen sighed, wiping a single tear away that had dripped down onto her cheek. "He usually just laughs it off when I'm mean to him, and that's part of his charm. It's like nothing can touch him, y'know?"

"Well, obviously you were wrong on that one. He was devastated. How could you not see it?" Laxus had no clue why he was trying to work this out with Evergreen, since it was a problem that she had created by being so cold before. Sure, he'd lightened up quite a bit since returning to the guild, but he was still an asshole for the most part. When Evergreen shrugged, Laxus sighed and shook his head at her.

"I just hope he'll forgive me… I really did want him to take me out on a date."

"Yeah, well… You'd better hope that Blondie can help him work through it," Laxus said. When Evergreen's shocked and tear-filled eyes lifted to meet his, he added, "He's taking a mission with her, and she's gonna do what she does for everyone here—make him smile."

"You don't think…" Evergreen whispered.

Laxus shrugged and sighed. "Not a fucking clue, Ever. Honestly, I wouldn't blame the guy for moving on. If some chick pulled that shit with me after  _months_  of pining over her? I'd drop the bitch like a bad habit. You really fucked up, and all I'll say is that if he  _does_  move on, you leave him the hell alone."

Evergreen dropped her head and pulled off her glasses, then wrapped her arms around herself and silently sobbed. "F-Fine," she whispered brokenly. "I'll… I'll l-leave him alone… if they… I-If they're—" Her words died in her throat when she was suddenly pulled to her feet and wrapped in a pair of highly muscled arms, her face buried in a chest that she had never imagined willingly being so close to her.

Laxus sighed as he held the crying Fairy mage. "I know I'm hard on you guys, but I'm here for you, alright?" he whispered. "You made a mistake. Everyone does… hell,  _I_ sure fucking made some mistakes… But, when they come back just pay attention to what  _he_  wants or needs. You can fight for him, and show him that you really wanna be with him, but don't tear away his happiness. Make sense?"

Evergreen nodded slowly, trying to keep her tears from soaking into Laxus' shirt by turning her head away. After only a moment, she sniffled and started to pull herself from his embrace. Her eyes widened and shot up to meet his stormy blue gaze when he tightened his hold on her. "L-Laxus?"

Laxus took a slow step back towards his desk, pulling Evergreen with him, and leaned against it so she was standing between his spread legs. "Cry it out, Ever. You'll feel better. And I've got a spare shirt, so don't worry about that." When her eyes widened only marginally, he smirked at her. "I'm not so much of a dick that I won't help you out, y'know. So, do your thing. I've got all the time in the world."

Evergreen gave him a tremulous smile, then lowered her head to his chest while her arms wrapped around his waist. She had never really hugged Laxus like this before, only ever having been locked in a Freed-induced dogpile on their leader. While she stood there, Evergreen couldn't help but replay her day up until that point. Every venomous word that was sent her way had been deserved. The single slap Lucy had given her and the rough placement into her seat wasn't nearly as much punishment as her callus behavior had really warranted. She cared about that big lug of a man, and she'd told him the exact opposite. It was stupid, she could see that now, but what was done was done. Evergreen's tears fell anew, and she simply tightened her hold on Laxus while she sobbed.

* * *

Lucy couldn't remember ever having taken such a nerve-wracking bath in her entire life. It wasn't because there was someone else in her home—someone from the guild that she hardly knew, she might add—because of how the day had progressed, or the thought of the upcoming mission. Lucy's nerves had everything to do with the fact of just what she was allowing said guild mate to _do_  in her home. She tried to take her time and let the scalding water soothe her muscles the way it always did after a long and tiring job with her team, but she just couldn't take it any longer. She looked at her fingers to see that they had already turned into little prunes, smiling when her eyes instantly imagined that the creases made up tiny elephants on her fingertips, and decided that enough time had passed. She had to make sure her apartment was still intact. So, with that single thought running on repeat through her head, along with a dozen scenarios of everything that could have gone wrong in the time she had been in the bath, Lucy pulled the stopper from the drain and got herself dried off. She got dressed in her most comfortable black sweats, a black sports bra, and a silly oversized shirt that Loke had given her for Christmas that had a picture of a princess dancing with a lion on it, then brushed her hair out and threw it into a sloppy bun. She wasn't trying to impress anyone, and while Lucy usually loved looking her best when she had company, she just didn't feel the need to do anything extra that night.

She slowly peeked out of the door to the bathroom, feeling the steam that had filled the small space quickly rushing out into her living room. So far, so good from the small sliver of the room she could see. Nothing was on fire, or frozen, or destroyed. Her underwear drawer hadn't been thoroughly perused with its contents strewn about her home. With a roll of her eyes, and feeling just the tiniest bit silly because of the habits her team had instilled in her during their time together, Lucy left the bathroom only to stop dead in her tracks. She took a deep breath and felt her mouth instantly watering when the decadent aroma of homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and steamed vegetables filled her lungs.  _'You're kidding me,'_  she though incredulously. A glance at the clock told her that she had actually been in the bath for well over an hour, and her eyes widened marginally. How had she not realized that her bath had run on longer than normal? It hadn't felt like more than fifteen minutes, but the clock didn't lie.

"Oh, I was just about to let you know dinner's ready," Elfman chuckled from across the room as he walked out of the kitchen. He carefully placed the last dish on the table, making sure his gargantuan hand didn't knock anything over as he had a tendency to do when he wasn't paying attention, then turned to give Lucy a questioning look when she just gaped at him. "Lucy?"

"Huh? OH! Sorry," Lucy giggled, a light blush dusting her cheeks at how she had just been gaping at the table full of food. She couldn't really be blamed though. Since leaving the Konzern, this was the first time anyone had cooked for her without wreaking havoc on her apartment, and it smelled and looked amazing. She was curious—albeit a little scared—to see what the state of her kitchen was, but decided to just leave that for later as she walked across the room to sit down at the dining table. When Elfman just sat across from her, not making any move to dish himself up some food, she tilted her head to the side and asked, "Aren't you gonna eat, Elfman?"

"Definitely, but it's not manly to take the first helping when a lady's present," Elfman answered, taking a small sip of the glass of water he'd poured for himself.

"Chivalry?" Lucy laughed. "Well, that's definitely unexpected."

"No, it's more of the fact that I can eat the whole thing myself if I really wanted to," Elfman said, grinning when Lucy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Mira and Lis always dish up before I do, that way I know they've had enough to eat."

Lucy's smile softened as she helped herself to the delicious meal set before her. "You really care about your sisters, huh?" she asked, more to herself than the man across the table.

"Of course," Elfman answered. "It's just been the three of us for a long time, so I've gotta make sure they're taken care of… Even if they're all grown up now, and don't really need me anymore."

Lucy's smile faded when she heard the small hint of sadness in Elfman's voice as his words trailed off. She watched him dish up his own plate with much more food than she could ever hope to consume in one sitting while still maintaining her girlish figure, and furrowed her brow when she caught a glimpse of an emotion she knew intimately; loneliness. It was gone as quickly as it came, but Lucy saw it nonetheless. Without another thought on the matter, she reached across the table and laid her hand gently on top of his just when he grabbed the spoon for the vegetables. "Elfman, they're always going to need their brother. I know Lis definitely loves what you do for her, because she missed so much time with you while she was in Edolas. It doesn't matter how old they are… Your sisters need you."

Elfman stared down at Lucy's hand before looking up into the caring brown eyes that stared back at him. "Th-Thanks, Lucy," he muttered.

"No problem," Lucy said with a sweet smile as she pulled her hand back. They were silent for a moment while she lifted a forkful of lasagna to her mouth, and Lucy couldn't suppress the long moan of ecstasy that left her once all that cheesy goodness touched her tongue. With the first bite, her eyes went wide in surprise and wonder when flavor after flavor burst across her tongue, mixing and melding so expertly that all she could manage to do was keep chewing like a normal person instead of scarfing everything down faster than Natsu in a hot dog eating contest. "Oh my god, Elfman," Lucy moaned, placing a hand over her lips to keep any food from flying out. She normally wouldn't have spoken with food in her mouth, but she had to tell him just how amazing his cooking was. "This is the best thing I've ever eaten!"

Elfman swallowed his own bite of food and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks. I saw you had an eggplant that was gonna go bad soon if it wasn't cooked, so I figured I'd make my own version of Mira's lasagna. She hates eggplant, so it's the only way to get her to eat it."

Lucy let out a peal of laughter and shook her head. "You mean to tell me you're sneaking vegetables into your big sister's meals?"

"Yes. Vegetables make you strong. You can't be a real man if you don't eat your vegetables," Elfman answered solemnly, a smile pulling at his own lips when Lucy continued laughing. He thought it was just as ridiculous that Mira wouldn't eat vegetables, and honestly felt like a lunatic when he'd started cooking things that she couldn't tell had vegetables in them. Both of his sisters were surprisingly stubborn when it came to something they didn't want to do, so Elfman had been forced to get inventive to make sure they were properly taken care of.

"Well, I happen to agree with you on that one," Lucy said through her laughter. "I've had to do the same thing for Erza." When Elfman's jaw dropped, Lucy nodded and leaned forward as though she was divulging a deep, dark secret. "I can't tell you how many times I've gotten her to eat broccoli by pureeing it and mixing it with cheese. I just tell her it's a secret seasoning, and she scarfs it all down."

The small apartment was filled with Elfman's booming laugh that was quickly followed by Lucy's much lighter, nearly bell-like, giggling. The pair spent the rest of dinner laughing and telling stories about missions, her team, his sisters, or themselves until the food was gone and a knock sounded from the front door.

"Elfman, can you get that while I clear the table?" Lucy asked. She smiled when he nodded and walked off, then picked up the last of the dishes from the table and carried everything into the kitchen. She was still very curious to see the state of the place, wondering what kind of cook Elfman was when it came to his workspace. Lucy shouldn't have been surprised to see the countertops practically sparkling with cleanliness, but she was. Not a single utensil was out of place. There were no terrifying mystery splatters on the walls or ceiling. No charred walls. She could hardly tell that anyone had even just cooked a full dinner in the kitchen, since everything he'd used was already cleaned and put away. With a sigh of relief, Lucy set the dishes in the sink and filled it with water for everything to soak, then turned and made her way out to see who had come by.

"Hi, Lucy! Sorry for stopping by so late," Mira said with a sweet smile. "Lisanna got distracted by Natsu and they left on a fishing trip with Happy, so I made sure to bring Elfman's stuff over."

Lucy giggled and rolled her eyes as she watched Elfman rummaging through his surprisingly normal sized bag on the couch. "You're planning on forcing them together, aren't you?" she asked with a sly smile.

Mira simply smiled and tilted her head to the side.

"Do you wanna stay for dessert? I've got some chocolate cake in the fridge that Erza has surprisingly  _not_  decimated." Lucy saw Mira's eyes light up for a moment before turning a worried glance over to Elfman. In a much softer voice, Lucy said, "He's gonna be fine, Mira. It'll take some time, but he'll be alright."

Mira nodded sadly as Elfman took a spare set of clothes into the bathroom so he could take a shower. Once the door was closed, she sighed and followed Lucy further into the cozy apartment. "I contacted Yajima and told him that you and Elfman accepted the request," she said while Lucy started washing the dishes in the sink. "He was over the moon about the two of you going, so he's extended it to two weeks officially."

"Alright. I think it'll be a lot of fun working at his new restaurant for a while. And I'm  _definitely_  glad Elfman's gonna be there now that I know he's a genius in the kitchen."

"You know, I actually learned how to cook from him…" When Lucy dropped the fork she'd been about to wash, Mira giggled and moved to help dry the dishes and put them away. "There's a couple things you should know since you'll be with him for more than just a day."

Lucy paused and gave the barmaid a questioning glance.

"Elfman has a tendency to try and do everything on his own, so even if he says he can handle it, make sure you're firm with him about letting you help."

"Okay, I think I can handle that," Lucy replied, a soft smile gracing her face. "Natsu's a lot like that, too."

"Well… When it's time for him to sleep…" Mira continued, wincing at the fact that she had to tell someone about her little brother's odd quirks. "You um… Well…"

Lucy stopped as she picked up the last plate to rinse it, and turned to look at Mira. "What is it?"

Mira sighed, wringing the towel she'd been using to dry the dishes nervously in her hands. "Sometimes he doesn't need it, but um... Usually I have to hold his hand for him to fall asleep."

"Huh?"

"It started when we thought Lisanna died. He was so scared I would leave him too, that he had nightmares unless I slept in the same bed with him. It's gotten a lot better, and I know he won't let you do that on principle alone, but it helps him relax if he can feel someone holding his hand." Mira cringed at her explanation of what made her little brother so desperate for that small bit of comfort. She knew that Lucy was probably one of the sweetest and most understanding people she'd met, but there were some things that people just had a hard time accepting.

Elfman had been so distraught over his belief that he'd killed Lisanna, so worried that Mira would disappear too, that he'd woken up screaming and crying for weeks when he couldn't find his only living sibling right away. When she had started sleeping in bed with him, he didn't have nearly as many nightmares, and he stopped screaming because he knew that Mira was safe. After some time, when Mira ended up coming home later than he did from closing the bar, she had started just holding his hand in his sleep so he could feel her there with him. And now... Elfman made sure to take as few overnight missions as possible because he could hardly stand being away from his sisters. They had become a strong support system for one another, and while most thought it was odd that they all lived together, Mira loved having her little brother and sister with her. She knew it was only a matter of time before they moved out to live on their own—which she believed would be happening sooner rather than later as far as Lisanna was concerned—but she always wondered how Elfman would cope with not having someone there when he finally decided to do it.

"With what Evergreen did today," Mira continued, "It's one of the things he's been scared would happen when he told her... I wouldn't put it past him to really need that tonight." She couldn't bring herself to look at Lucy as she added, "I can stay here to help him if—"

"Dont be silly, Mira." Lucy dried her hands off and wrapped her arms around the Takeover mage's shoulders. "I'm pretty sure I can handle a little hand holding to help him sleep. It's not like he's going to crawl under the covers with me in the middle of the night like my team does. Now, how about some cake?"

When Lucy pulled back and gave Mira a brilliant smile, she couldn't help but be thankful that the sweet blonde had taken it upon herself to care for her little brother. "Sounds good to me. One last thing?"

Lucy smiled and nodded while she started pulling out the cake, cutting and depositing the slices on three plates—while making sure to cut Elfman's just a little larger than she normally would have.

"He's actually really sensitive, Lucy. Most people don't see it, but Elfman's a total sweetheart, and—"

Lucy placed a placating hand on her shoulder and lightly squeezed, halting Mira's words in an instant. "I already know, Mira. I figured that much out when he was crying on my shoulder earlier. My shirt may have nightmares about being drenched in, as he called them, 'man-tears'… but it's okay. I'm gonna take care of him."

Mira gave Lucy a trembling smile, then quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before they could spill over when the bathroom door opened. "Alright, let's have some cake!" she said happily, her heart warming when she heard her little brother chuckling in the other room. She followed behind Lucy as they walked out to sit at the table, and watched in silence at how some of the dullness left Elfman's eyes when Lucy handed him a large slice of chocolatey goodness.

"Wow, where did you get this cake from?" Elfman asked incredulously after swallowing a bite of food.

"Uh, I made it," Lucy answered, blushing when Mira's eyes widened before rolling back after she took a bite of her own slice.

"Lucy, why didn't you ever tell me you could bake like this?" Mira asked. "This is better than what I make at the hall!"

Lucy's eyes went wide and she quickly shook her head to dissuade Mira's statement. "I-It's just a recipe I found in one of my mom's old cookbooks. I just followed the directions, that's all."

"The recipe said to put vanilla  _and_  almond extract in the mix?"

Lucy turned to gape at Elfman, wondering just how in the world he'd managed to taste that small adjustment she'd made. "Well… No, I did that. It just seemed so plain the first time I made it with just vanilla, so I figured I'd experiment with it and see if I couldn't find something to make it better… And then I used two different types of chocolate for the icing."

"Exactly," Elfman said with a triumphant grin. "This is the manliest cake I've ever had!"

Mira had to force herself not to start in on a matchmaking scheme while they all ate and talked. Lucy and Elfman didn't know each other very well, but she could see in the way they interacted that they were already much closer than they had been before. She had always promised herself not to force her own desires for spoiling little babies on her siblings, because she wanted them to make their own choices in life. It was the biggest reason that she had only offered advice when Elfman asked concerning his feelings for Evergreen. If he had asked for her assistance in winning the Fairy mage over, Mira would have done it simply because it made him happy; even though she didn't think their babies would be adorable.

Now though, while looking at Lucy and her little brother, Mira wanted nothing more than for them to be together. It just seemed like an oddly natural combination to her. She knew what Elfman was really like when he was comfortable and acting like himself, when he wasn't constantly putting up that masculine front he thought everyone expected of him. That sweet and gentle nature that Lucy so openly shared with everyone she met was what Elfman hid from sight. While Mira wasn't going to push her own preference on the two, she resolved to keep a close eye on them. Elfman was heartbroken, and he needed this time to heal. She just hoped that the two in front of her decided for themselves that they made a wonderful couple... And then she could have tons of nieces and nephews to spoil.

 


	3. Journey

 

Lucy smiled as she closed the door after wishing Mira a good night. She and the two Strauss siblings had spent quite a while just chatting and having an overall good time. Elfman had even opened up further after the revelation that Lucy was apparently a genius when it came to confections. She didn't really think she was all the great, but it had put such a big smile on his face when she'd offered him a second slice of cake that she simply couldn't help but feel just a little bit proud of herself.

Elfman walked into the living room after washing the few dishes from dessert, and looked over to see Lucy leaning against the door with a soft smile on her face. It was definitely weird that he was going to be staying here when he hardly knew the girl, more so that he was going to be taking a mission with her for two whole weeks. At least the job was something he knew he would be able to excel at, and Yajima had already told him before that he was more than welcome to bring his manly cooking skills into 8 Island any time he wanted. "What time do we need to leave in the morning?" he asked, doing everything in his power to stifle the small chuckle that wanted to escape when Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin.

Lucy flushed with embarrassment at being caught just staring off into space, but she offered Elfman a sweet smile as she made her way over to the couch. "We could probably take the nine o'clock train," she said as she started setting up the couch as a makeshift bed for herself.

"Oh, you don't need to do that," Elfman said quickly, taking a few long strides over to stop Lucy. "I can set the couch up for myself."

She frowned and cocked her head to the side as she peered up at him. "Why would you set it up for yourself?" she asked. "You're taking my bed."

His eyes went wide at that. There was absolutely no way that he would just barge in and take Lucy's bed from her. It was her home, and he always remembered his dad distinctly telling him that women should be much more comfortable when it came to sleeping, since they needed the extra rest. Elfman hadn't been very old when his parents died, but the few things that he did remember about his father in particular were held very closely to his heart. "Lucy, you should sleep in your bed. I'll be fine on the couch."

She gave him a soft smile and paused in adjusting the blanket she had just laid down to place her hands gently on his forearms. "Elfman, when I've had a long day, I know that the one thing that makes me feel better is curling up in bed. There's no way you'll be even remotely comfortable on the couch. As a good host, I want you to take my bed where you'll actually have a chance to get a halfway decent night's rest." She could tell he was willing to keep pushing the issue, and remembered Mira mentioning just how adamant he could be about putting her before himself. "You've had a long day, so let me take the couch, okay?"

Elfman's mouth was open and ready to tell her just how manly it was for him to let her sleep in her own bed, but the way Lucy was looking at him threw it all out the window. Her smile was so soft and understanding, her eyes shining with a gentleness that was so reminiscent of his sisters', that he couldn't possibly tell her no. A sudden wave of gratitude washed over him when he realized just how much she was willing to do for him, and he couldn't help but mirror her smile with one of his own. "Alright, Lucy," he conceded softly. "But you're gonna be sleeping in a proper bed while we're on this mission."

Lucy giggled and nodded with a roll of her eyes. "Of course I am. Now, off to bed with you." She watched as he gave her one more subdued smile before turning to make his way to her room, then said, "Hey, Elfman?"

He paused in his step and turned to look at the sweet blonde. "Yeah?"

"If you need anything," Lucy said softly, "I'll be right here, okay? Anything at all." She didn't want to let him know that Mira had already told her about that small comfort he needed to fall asleep, but the way he went rigid and gave her a stiff nod let her know that he had probably figured it out. Of course she was willing to hold his hand to help him if he needed it, but she also wanted to give Elfman the chance to do this his own way. There wouldn't always be someone there to hold his hand for him, but she at least wanted to let him know that it was still an option even without Mira there.

She watched as he walked down the hall to her room, then let out a soft sigh while sitting down on the couch. She just hoped that Elfman would be alright. No, she was sure he would be, eventually. This time away from the guild, away from Evergreen and doing something he loved would be good for him. Maybe it was like he was running away from the problem, but sometimes that was what needed to be done. Putting distance between yourself and the issue so that you could come back with a clear head… And maybe a less broken heart.

Lucy laid her head down after turning off the lamp on her end table, and found herself listening to the sounds of the apartment while her eyes slid closed. She could hear Elfman shifting slightly in her bed, the soft whoosh of air from the air conditioning, and general silence. He could fall asleep on his own tonight. She was sure of it. If he needed her though, she would be there for him.

* * *

It was only an hour later that Elfman woke up in a panic. Sweat beaded on his forehead and upper lip as he sat upright, and his heart was racing.  _'Evergreen…'_  he thought sadly. He'd been forced to watch it happen all over again, on repeat. Everything she had said, how the guild had grown so quiet while they watched. He'd been able to hear his own heart shattering. But it hadn't stopped there. He'd gone to his sisters for comfort, but he couldn't find them, and was thrown through the town down to the cemetery behind Kardia Cathedral. Two headstones sat side-by-side. Mira and Lisanna. He'd been catapulted back to the guild and watched from the sidelines when the Dream-Elfman's heart was crushed, then turned and shifted into his Beast Soul when his sisters tried to comfort him. Dream-Elfman slaughtered them. It wasn't just knocking Lisanna into a cliff like he had in reality so long ago. He ripped them to pieces.

And now, he was just staring at his hands as though he could see the blood on them. He knew he would never do that to his sisters, but why did it have to feel so real? Why did it all have to look so real? The way Mira had tried to protect Lisanna in his dream, the look of horror and anger and betrayal on her face…

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Elfman quickly shifted his gaze to the door to see Lucy leaning against the frame. Her eyes were so sad, like she knew just what his dream-self was guilty of. He watched as she slowly made her way closer to the bed, and dropped his gaze back to where his large hands sat on his lap. Free of blood in reality, but stained with it in his head. His heart ached more with each passing second, and he let out a quivering breath when the bed dipped only slightly next to him as she sat down.

"Bad dream?" she whispered. When Elfman nodded, Lucy lifted the glass she was holding and offered it to him. "Drink this. It'll help."

He didn't even pay attention to what it was, and instead took the drink and tipped the glass up to his lips. He paused and blinked in confusion for a moment, then finished it. "Warm milk?"

Lucy smiled and set the glass on the nightstand once it was back in her hands. "Yep. Makes the nightmares go away."

"I-I thought it was just to fall asleep…"

Lucy gently pulled his enormous hand closer, her thumbs stroking the back. "Well, that's what everyone says," she laughed softly, "But I like to think it does more than that. Besides, it's good for you. It'll make your bones nice and manly."

He chuckled, then found himself sniffling. Was he really crying again? He'd thought that he didn't have anymore tears to shed. "I… I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No," she answered. She wasn't going to tell him that he'd been talking in his sleep, or that she had a general idea of what was wrong, because he'd been whimpering his sisters' names and begging them to forgive him. "I couldn't fall asleep." Without hesitation, Lucy reached up and swiped her fingers over one cheek, then the other, ridding him of the tears that she hadn't noticed before with the darkness in the room. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Elfman shook his head. He wanted to just forget that it happened. He didn't want to remember what happened with Evergreen, and he didn't want to ever think about hurting his sisters like that. Hurting Lisanna was more than enough. He didn't need to think about losing control and killing Lisanna  _and_  Mira. Lucy shifted closer and he looked up again when she sighed gently.

"Why don't you lay down?" Lucy said softly. "I can stay here and help you fall asleep, if you want."

His brows drew together. "Wh-What…" Mira. She'd told Lucy what he needed her to do so he didn't have bad dreams. Feeling her next to him made him remember, even in sleep, that his sister was safe. But, that wouldn't work with Lucy. He was terrified of losing his sisters, so having one or both of them nearby made it easier to sleep. How was she supposed to do that for him? "You don't need to…"

Lucy smiled and patted his hand. "You could give it a shot, and see if it helps," she said encouragingly. "You won't know until you try."

Elfman decided that, even though he was sure it was against his better judgment, he was going to trust Lucy on this one. She'd been the one to help him get away from the guild, after all. And Lucy had let him cry everything out, and didn't bat an eye about it. "It's not manly to-"

"Sure it is," Lucy whispered as Elfman laid himself back down on her bed. She pulled the blanket up just a little higher, then brushed his hair from his forehead. "It's very manly to know when to ask for help, Elfman. At least…  _I_  think it is."

He sighed and rolled onto his side toward the blonde, with one hand sticking out from beneath the blanket, just like it always did. Her small hands that reminded him so much of Mira's closed over his, and he slowly looked up into her large, caring eyes. "Thanks, Lucy," he whispered.

"Any time, Elfman," Lucy said with a smile. She started drawing lazy, random patterns on his calloused palm and fingers, and as his eyes slid closed, Lucy found herself humming a soft tune she hadn't heard in years. One that her mother had used when she had a nightmare.

Elfman's eyes shot open to look at her in shock.  _'How does she know that song?'_  It was one his mother had hummed all the time. One that Mira would sing whenever she was in the mood at the house. Had Mira really told her to sing this to him?  _'No, Mira doesn't sing to me,'_  he thought. She would hold his hand, or lay in bed with him, but she didn't sing him to sleep. One of Lucy's hands left his and gently stroked his cheek, then down the bridge of his nose. Slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes closed again, his breathing slowed, and he drifted off to sleep.

Lucy smiled down at the sleeping Take Over mage. His face had softened, but not nearly enough to make him seem like a child. Not like some people - namely Natsu. Elfman's hand tightened on Lucy's, and she brought her free hand down to tenderly stroke his fingers. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting next to him by the time she finally pulled her hands away, but he was definitely relaxed. And that was all she really cared about. Silently, using all of the practice she'd gotten in the time she'd known Natsu and had needed to sneak away from those keen dragon senses of his, Lucy stood and took the empty glass of milk to the kitchen. A glance at the clock told her that she'd spent almost two hours sitting in the room with Elfman. It meant she would probably be taking a nap on the train, but she was sure he wouldn't mind if she caught a few extra z's on the way to the new 8 Island that Yajima was opening up - specifically, the job they would be on for the next two weeks..

She stopped in the doorway to her room once more, just to double check that he was in fact sleeping soundly, and nodded to herself when all she saw was his steady breathing. "Goodnight, Elfman," Lucy whispered. "Sweet dreams."

* * *

"Lucy… Lucy…"

Lucy frowned and ignored the voice that was calling her name.

"Lucy, time to wake up," Elfman chuckled, looking down at the blonde that had ended up using his arm as a pillow during their train ride to Kunugi. He didn't really blame her for it, since she'd told him while they ate breakfast that she'd stayed up a little later than she'd planned while making sure he was sleeping alright. He felt guilty for putting the blonde through that, but she hadn't seemed to mind at all. So, when he'd noticed that Lucy was drifting off to sleep, he quietly offered to act as a pillow, saying that he would be a lot more comfortable than the window. At least, that what Lisanna and Mira told him all the time.

"Don't wanna," she pouted, snuggling closer to the warmth that her companion was providing her cheek. Well, the whole left side of her face, really.

"Well, we're about to pull into the station," Elfman said. "I'll carry you if you want. That way you can get some more sleep." He remembered just how light Lucy was during the Grand Magic Games, when he had carried her, Natsu, Gray, and Erza up the stairs for the Sky Labyrinth. It would be no trouble carrying her now. And he didn't have to worry about their bags, because Lucy had asked Virgo to hold onto them until they got to the hotel.

Lucy smiled sleepily, keeping her eyes closed. "People would think I was being abducted," she laughed. "Or they wouldn't see me at all, what with all these muscles."

Elfman gave her a proud grin. "I vote for the second one," he chuckled.

The conductor's tinny voice echoed through the cabin, signalling that they would be at the train station in Kunugi in five minutes. Lucy yawned and slowly sat upright, then stretched. A content sigh slipped past her lips when her back popped, and she finally opened her eyes to look at him. "You were right," she said. "You're a much better pillow than the window."

"Because I'm a real man!" Elfman answered enthusiastically. The smile she gave him, although tired, made him remember his sisters. Which brought the reason he was on this job in the first place crashing into him again. He'd been able to avoid it for all of five minutes this time. The three hour ride on the train had been spent in silence for him, which wasn't all that unusual to be honest. Except this time, he'd wanted a distraction. He hadn't wanted to think about Evergreen. Not so soon. Except he just couldn't keep his mind off of her. He'd never been able to, though. Once they met, he'd fallen for her. Years of pining for the Fairy mage, and it had all been wasted. She didn't want to be with him, and she didn't want to give him a chance to show her just how great they could be together.

Elfman wanted to run back to the guild. He wanted to see if Evergreen had changed her mind, and if maybe she was willing to give him a chance. That was all he needed. Just one chance to show her… One small date, to prove that he was the one for her. That they could be happy. Except… He couldn't do that.

Elfman couldn't go back to the guild yet. He remembered his dad telling him a long time ago that women are the ones that really run things; when a woman says no, that's what it means, and there's really no point in fighting it if you really care about her. It meant that Evergreen turning down his offer of a date was it. She had said no, and now he had to find a way to move on. It hurt more than he'd thought possible, but he had to do it.

Besides, he had a job to do with Lucy, and he wasn't going to let her down. She couldn't do this on her own. It was a two-person job, at least. Yajima was opening a second location for 8 Island, hoping to gain business by putting the restaurant on the only main road that led from Kunugi to Shirotsume. From what Elfman knew, it was just a small village, but maybe the restaurant would make the place bigger. People might move there and start lives. It could be a great thing.

The mission was a pretty easy one though. He needed some staff members while the business got started, preferably ones that had worked with him before. That pretty much involved everyone in Fairy Tail. Elfman wasn't entirely sure what positions Yajima needed, but he was going to give this everything he had. Most likely, he'd be working as a cook. It's what he did every time he went to help the older man out. Lucy would probably end up waitressing.  _'Evergreen would look beautiful in that uniform…'_

"Elfman, are you coming?" Lucy asked from the doorway to the compartment they'd been riding in. When he sharply turned to look at her, she saw just how upset he was all over again. It wasn't surprising to see that look in his eyes, but she wanted to try and get him to think of something else. Anything else. With a devious grin, she said, "Unless… You want me to use my  _manly_  muscles to carry you to Jinju?"

Elfman let out a booming laugh when Lucy lifted her slender arms and flexed, her tongue sticking out and one eye closed to imitate just how hard she was trying to show them off.

"Aw, c'mon," Lucy pouted playfully as he stood up. "I'm strong! I'll carry you!" When he just continued laughing and shook his head, she sighed and visibly deflated. "I guess you're right…"

Elfman fell into step behind Lucy and waited until they were on the train platform before he spoke. "You're strong, Lucy," he said. "But I think you'd need more muscle to lift me up."

Lucy smiled up at him. "I'd say so, but maybe we should leave the muscles to you." As they continued through the crowd, Lucy found herself trying to move closer to him so they wouldn't get separated, and failing. She didn't really understand why Kunugi would be bustling with so many people, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Even trying to walk behind Elfman's hulking body didn't do any good. People would instantly swoop in behind him, and she had to either duck out of the way or risk being trampled. "Elfman!"

He turned around with a raised brow, wondering why Lucy was yelling. And then he realized that they were getting separated. He turned on his heel and reached out over the crowd as he made his way back to where she was, then laughed as he caught hold of her hand only for the blonde to vault herself into the air. Since she was airborne, he pulled even harder, sending her flying right into his broad chest. "Guess I should carry you after all," he chuckled.

Lucy slowly looked up from where her face was pressed against him, a soft smile on her face. "I guess so," she giggled.

After a moment, Elfman shifted and lifted the blonde higher, laughing when she started squirming and trying to keep her skirt from showing too much to the public. Once she was carefully seated on his shoulder, with Lucy tightly gripping one of his hands with both of hers, he looked up to see her face was a bright, cherry red. And that she was grinning from ear to ear.

"So  _that's_  what it looks like from up here!" She suddenly had a whole new appreciation for the big lug. Not only was she out of the crowd's clutches, but now Lucy got to be tall for once! And it was a definitely plus that now she was able to look down at Elfman, rather than turn and get a face full of his belly button - which, thankfully, was clean.

"Pretty nice view, huh?" Elfman asked. Her brown eyes were dancing with wonder when she looked at him, and he found himself smiling. For a little while, he forgot all about the heartache in Magnolia, and as they continued making their way through Kunugi and off on their journey to Jinju, Elfman felt a little lighter. A little more carefree. Maybe he was running from the problem, but he knew that sometimes it was what you needed to do. He would have two weeks to mend his broken heart, and make things a little more bearable when they returned. Two weeks with the bubbly blonde that was so much like his little sister, and had already been able to make him smile and think about something else.

He knew Lucy was going to help him move on from what happened with Evergreen. He didn't think there was any way that he would ever be able to repay her kindness, but he was definitely going to try. He owed her that much.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for the village of Jinju goes to LittlePrincessNana.


	4. The Job

 

Lucy couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face when she left the bathroom in the back of 8 Island. Not only was the waitress uniform pretty damn cute, even though orange wasn't really a color she made a habit of being decked out in on a regular basis, but the sight of Elfman wearing  _that_  much orange was… adorable, really. She still wasn't sure just how Yajima had gotten so much fabric for the uniform, let alone four of them to last the enormous Take-Over mage several days.

They were already halfway through their first shift, and the blonde was finding herself more and more amazed by just how easily Elfman was able to move about in the kitchen. Sure, he dwarfed everyone around him, especially Yajima. Okay, and the poor rail thin cook that had been trying to learn the restaurant's recipes - the one that was supposed to be running things in the kitchen, but kept yelping and cowering when Elfman got too close.

All in all, the job so far was a breeze, exactly what she'd had in mind when she picked it out. All she had to do was take orders, be on her feet all day, handle customers… There were no fires suddenly raging that set her clothes ablaze. No swords flying haphazardly through the air. And no one was trying to kidnap her. At least… not yet. There was still time for that to happen.

"Lucy," Yajima smiled as he walked past. "Could you get more dish towels from the shelf up there?"

She nodded and turned, searching the nearby shelves for the white towels that the kitchen staff used. Her gaze slowly trailed up until she let out a heavy sigh once she realized they were on the top shelf. Well out of her reach. She looked around quickly for a step stool of some sort, then back up at the towels with narrowed eyes. "You can do it," she whispered to herself.

Up on the tips of her toes, Lucy stretched one arm above her, using the other hand to stabilize herself on the wall. When that didn't work, she started jumping awkwardly, trying in vain to reach the bag that held her goal. She huffed angrily when there was still a full half foot between the tips of her fingers and the towel that was hanging down, just staring at her and taunting her.

"Need some help?"

Lucy smiled when an absurdly muscled arm reached over her head and pulled the bag from the shelf. She turned her grin up to Elfman once the towels were set in her arms. "Thanks, Elfman," she sighed. "I'd probably have been jumping for days."

He chuckled quietly, pulling a bandanna from his back pocket to wipe at the sweat that glistened on his upper lip. "It's no problem, Lucy."

Lucy placed a hand on his forearm as he went to walk off, giving him another soft smile. "Really," she whispered, "Thanks for being there." She watched in silence when he ducked his head with a bashful smile before making his way back to the main kitchen.

"You know," Yajima said as he made his way over to the blonde. He paused and took the towels from her and gave her a small smile. "There's a step stool right over there."

Lucy's eyes cut over to the folded ladder that was tucked between the shelving unit and the wall, the one she'd already seen. "I know," she whispered. "But, sometimes it's important to feel like you're needed."

The way Elfman lit up at just being able to help her was more than enough for her to look like a dumb blonde for a minute. Hell, she had a habit of doing it from time to time just to throw people off. But having the ability to make someone smile, to make Elfman smile when she could see that he was having a hard time just managing that more often than not, was definitely a good thing.

"I suppose so," Yajima nodded. "Back to work, dear."

Lucy grinned and gave the smaller former Council member a playful salute with her notepad. "Aye, sir," she giggled.

* * *

Elfman smirked to himself when he heard Lucy yawning as they made their way back to the hotel. It was definitely a long first day, that was for sure. But somehow, the constant stream of orders had kept his mind so preoccupied that he hadn't really had time to think about anything that had happened back in Magnolia. The only thing he could really focus on was keeping everything from burning, getting everything out the window on time, not stepping on the other cook or Yajima, and Lucy. The blonde was one hell of a waitress, and he'd caught himself smiling when she laughed along with some of her customers over something. She was definitely a little on the accident prone side, but even when an entire bowl of salad had ended up on top of her head from a toddler throwing a tantrum, the blonde had simply laughed it off. She'd even gotten the little boy to laugh too, simply because she looked absolutely ridiculous.

Now though, Elfman was able to think back on things. And Lucy was able to relax just a little bit. While he was still hurting over what had happened the day before with Evergreen, it was already less painful. Somehow, just that single day had made the heartache more dulled. Maybe it was because he'd been forced into a situation where he wasn't  _allowed_  to think about it, to let it all stew like he would have done if he'd stayed at home. Or maybe it was the blonde at his side whose steps were slowing to a crawl. "Come on, Lucy," Elfman chuckled. "We're almost back to the hotel."

"So sleepy," she groaned. She was honestly so damn tired that it didn't faze her in the slightest when Elfman picked her up and settled her on his shoulder, just like she'd been when they were leaving the Kunugi train station. "What…"

Elfman shook his head when Lucy leaned heavily on it, letting out another soft laugh. He kept one hand wrapped around her back to make sure she didn't slump over and just fall right off of him as he continued on their way to the hotel. "You've been on your feet all day," he said after a minute. "So, rest until we get there, then you can have a shower while I get dinner set up."

"You don't…" Lucy paused to yawn. Loudly. "Have to do that. You should take the first shower."

"You're the one that's falling asleep, Lucy."

"Yeah…" Lucy sighed. "Got a point there…"

Elfman smiled and continued on his way, getting to the room in a matter of minutes. Once he and Lucy were inside, he set everything down on the small kitchenette, then carried the nearly slumbering blonde to the bathroom and settled her on her feet. "I'll see you in a few."

Lucy hardly waited for the door to close before she started peeling her uniform off. Her feet were aching more than usual, and she really did want to take a nice long bath to soak, but she would most likely drown if she did that. Instead, she decided it would probably be for the best if she stayed alive, and hopped in the shower. In a matter of minutes, Lucy was finished, and drying herself off. She was eternally grateful that she'd had the foresight to set her pajamas in the bathroom before they left the hotel earlier. It saved her from having to walk out into the rest of the room in only a towel just to get them, which would be embarrassing as hell.

Once she was back out in the main room, Lucy gave Elfman a tired and grateful smile as she took a seat at the table. The door to the bathroom closed, and she ended up simply picking at her food while he showered. Really, Elfman should have taken a shower first. He'd been pouring sweat in the restaurant, because one of the fans for the oven broke down halfway through the day and the kitchen had quickly become akin to a sauna, and he really just deserved it a whole lot more than her. At least the blonde had been able to take refuge in the comfortable air conditioned atmosphere of the dining area.

One thing that she couldn't complain about though was that Elfman didn't actually stink when he was sweaty. Lucy was wholly thankful for that. Natsu and Gray both reeked something fierce after a single day of pouring sweat. Elfman just smelled… more manly. That single thought had the blonde giggling while slowly pulling the fork from her mouth. Of  _course_  he would smell more masculine. This was Elfman, after all.

"Are you sleep-eating?"

Lucy's eyes barely opened and she realized that her head was resting heavily on her hand, with one elbow propped on the table to keep her mostly upright. "I think so," she muttered around the food she couldn't remember putting in her mouth.

Elfman found himself chuckling softly as he took a seat next to the blonde. "Well, don't drown in your rice, alright?"

She nodded slowly, a shy smile pulling at her lips as they closed around her fork again. Just his presence helped her to wake up a little more. At least, that was until she accidentally bit the fork… and her tongue… at the same time.  _That_  had the Celestial mage jumping nearly a foot in the air with a muffled shriek of pain. "Th-tupid tongue!" she mumbled, blinking away her tears.

"Bite your tongue?" Elfman smirked.

Lucy glared at him sleepily. "No," she huffed. "It wath a battle to da death in ny nouth, and the fork won by playing dirty."

A booming laugh filled the small hotel room and Elfman carefully took Lucy's fork from her white-knuckled hand, then set it on the table. "We can heat it up in the morning," he said gently. "I think your tongue should just surrender tonight."

"Never!" Lucy giggled. "The war hath only juth begun! That fork ith goin' down!" Okay, so maybe it  _would_ be a good idea to call it a night. She was declaring an all-out war on cutlery. It seemed Elfman was on the same page, because he pushed the plate away slowly, and helped lead her to the bed the blonde would be sleeping in during their stay.

Lucy couldn't help but laugh when she was lifted into Elfman's arms, then gently settled on the bed, with her legs already pushed beneath the downturned blanket. Her tongue was still throbbing, but her eyelids grew heavier by the second as he pulled the blanket up and tucked her in. "Thanks, Elfman."

He smiled down at her. "You're welcome, Lucy. Sweet dreams." Between one moment and the next, the blonde was asleep. He turned and sat back down to finish eating, and within a few minutes he was was cleaning up and putting the remainder of Lucy's food - which was actually a good portion of what they'd brought back from the restaurant - in the tiny refrigerator for her to have in the morning.

Once it was all said and done, Elfman looked over at his bed, and winced. He hated sleeping alone, and loved having the comfort of one of his sisters while he nodded off. Still, he had to push past it. He was a grown man, after all, and he really needed to force himself to break that habit. The night before, Lucy had been kind enough to comfort him when he woke up from his nightmare, but he didn't want to use her as a crutch while they were on their mission. He could do this, he was sure of it.

He glanced over to the slumbering blonde, and found his feet carrying him over to her bedside. She looked so peaceful while she was sleeping, with a small smile curving her lips. After a moment, Elfman carefully sat down on the floor next to her. He rested his chin on his arm once it was settled on the edge of the bed, then reached out with his other hand to gently hold hers as it peeked out from beneath the blanket. "Thank you for this," he whispered, an airy chuckle escaping him when the Celestial mage pulled his hand closer and nuzzled her cheek against his palm as though it was a stuffed animal.

He was more glad every day - more like every hour, it seemed - that Lucy had taken it upon herself to help him when he needed it the most. It wasn't often that he really needed someone, because he always had to make sure he was capable of caring for Mira, and Lisanna now that she was back. Still, being able to lean on someone else, to pull on Lucy's strength when he was hit with the sudden realization that he was utterly powerless, was more of a relief than he would have thought. His shoulders didn't feel as heavy when Lucy was around, even though they'd really only started spending time together the day before, and he couldn't have been happier about it.

His heart still felt a little on the heavy side as he started drifting off to sleep, but it was the sound of Lucy's steady breathing, the feel of her breath feathering across his hand and her cheek resting against it, that gave the Take Over mage the ability to rest peacefully as he stayed seated on the floor at her bedside.

* * *

Three days into their mission, Lucy and Elfman were given the morning shift off. Yajima really only needed them to act as interim employees while he got everything going, and the two Fairy Tail mages were more than happy to have several hours to themselves before going in for the surprisingly busy dinner shift. Loke had said that he would hang out around 8 Island, just in case it got too busy. That way, he could let Lucy know if she and Elfman were needed, and they could head down there.

With the unexpected freedom, Lucy was at a loss for what to do. Luckily, Elfman wasn't.

"So, what are we doing?" Lucy asked as she settled herself on the large blanket Elfman had picked up at a little shop on the way out of town. She watched as he leaned back and grabbed a basket, then grinned along with the hulking mage once it was opened to reveal several sandwiches. "A picnic?"

"Yep," Elfman nodded. "I figured we should do some relaxing. And…" He paused and gave her an oddly timid smile. "Being out in places like this is relaxing." Maybe it was a little on the dorky side, but he loved lying around outside and relaxing. Looking up at the sky - whether it was clouds or stars - and just letting nature take hold of him. Maybe it was because of his magic, and the fact that he technically had several inner beasts that were directly related to nature. It was where they'd come from, and just being surrounded by lush trees and feeling a light breeze washing over his skin soothed them all.

Lucy blinked as she took a bite of her sandwich, then smiled back at him while she chewed. "It is."

"More than relaxing," he finally admitted after they sat in silence for several minutes.

"How so?"

"Well, you know how my magic works?"

Lucy's lips pursed in thought while she picked up a second sandwich. "I know you and your sisters get to know the monster, and copy them… Right?"

Elfman nodded, laying back on the blanket with his hands behind his head. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath, pulling in the earthy scent in the air with just a hint of petunias that were growing nearby. "Sort of. We have to fight it, get whatever it is down to a state where we can take it over - or copy its form. Depending on what it is, sometimes we actually take the monster over and absorb it."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "So, how's it relaxing out here? Well, aside from the obvious," she giggled.

He turned and peeked one eye open as the blonde laid down beside him, a shy smile quirking his lips. "Mira copies or absorbs demons, depending on how tough it is," he whispered. "Lis copies animals. But I absorb beasts."

"You don't copy them?"

He shook his head at that. "The ones I take over, I can't just copy them. I have to defeat them, otherwise there's no way to really take them over completely. It's why Lis only has parts of her body that change when she uses her magic. Mira gets what I have to deal with though, because when we absorb whatever it is… We take it into ourselves."

"Take it… into yourselves?"

He looked up at the clouds, watching as they slowly drifted across the sky. "They have memories, personalities, voices," he said, his voice growing a little more distant. "Mira hears the demons she absorbs sometimes, because they're a part of her now. They're aware of what she's experiencing. For me… The monsters are more primal, I guess. They don't talk, but being out here?" He paused and smiled in contentment. "It soothes them all. They're happy out in nature like this."

Lucy rolled onto her side, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. She propped herself up on one elbow, watching Elfman take in one deep breath after another. "So, how many different beasts have you taken over?"

"Fifteen, so far." When he heard no response from the blonde, his eyes opened again to find her jaw dropped open and her wide brown eyes staring at him in wonder. "What?" he laughed.

"Fifteen? I've only seen a few of them…" She distinctly remembered the full-body cheetah Take Over he'd used during the Grand Magic Games, and the enormous lizard. Usually though, Elfman would only transform an arm during the guild brawls, so it shouldn't have been too surprising that he had more than what she'd witnessed.

"I don't transform into all of them all the time," he replied with a grin. "Just when I'm training, so I can get used to using their abilities."

"I'd like to see that sometime," Lucy said, an excited grin spreading over her face. "Would you show me?"

Elfman blinked in surprise, a light blush crossing his cheeks. No one had ever really asked to see what he was capable of. He showed his sisters whenever he added a new Beast to his 'collection', because he was more than excited to let them see how much stronger he was. Then again, he only showed it to them after he was sure that he could control himself, because there was no way he would allow any harm to come to either of them. Not again.

But Lucy. She trusted his magic instantly. She wanted to see it. To see what he could do.  _'Not even Evergreen wanted to see my magic…'_  The thought soured his stomach, but all he could focus on was the blonde that was still waiting for him to respond. Her bright smile, her glimmering eyes. "Y-Yeah," he finally whispered.

"How about right now?"

"What?!"

Lucy nodded quickly, her hair bouncing around her shoulders. "Please? It'll be fun!"

"Really?" Elfman's brow furrowed. "I-I don't know."

Lucy moved to kneel next to him, then put her hands on his chest as she leaned over the Take Over mage with a pout. "Pretty please? I only got to see a little bit during the Games."

Elfman nibbled his lip nervously, suddenly feeling as though he was really being put on the spot. He usually took solo missions, so there wasn't really any issue with him possibly losing control of his magic at any point. But with Lucy right here… No, he couldn't think like that. He was a Fairy Tail mage, and he wasn't going to let a little fear stop him. Besides, letting out one of the beasts would make them even happier, and keeping them happy also helped him when he needed to control them later on. "Which one?"

Lucy shrugged. "Whichever one you're most comfortable with." She could see the doubt in his eyes, and she'd already heard the story of what happened when Lisanna disappeared. It was clear to her in that moment that Elfman still struggled with trusting his magic. "I trust you," she whispered.

Elfman jolted and looked back up into her eyes, belatedly realizing that he'd averted them. She trusted him, and he needed to trust himself. He'd never really done something like this before though. "Okay," he whispered back. It was just a matter of deciding which one to show her.

The beasts within growled, snarled, clicked, and nearly made him shudder as they all put in their two cents on the matter. And then he heard it. Just one was purring, seemingly pleased with the concept of meeting the blonde. A slow smile spread as he looked at Lucy, his whispered words being carried away on the wind instead of floating up for her to hear.

Lucy gasped as Elfman's body was covered in a bright yellow glow, squinting as it pierced right into her corneas. "What…" She paused when it suddenly disappeared, but didn't open her eyes. Instead, her hands flexed when she felt something soft and most definitely  _not_ his skin or shirt. A gentle purr sounded out, and she finally looked down at him. Then, she giggled.

The same cheetah face that she'd seen in the Games was there, instead of Elfman's chiseled jaw and strong features. The scar on his face and the soft blue of his eyes was still there. His white hair was longer, a little darker, and looked like a mane. While he still had a humanoid shape, with arms and hands and all, he was covered in golden fur with large black spots. His ears were longer and pointed. Whiskers poked out of his feline snout. Sharpened, gleaming teeth sat between what were once lips.

She hadn't gotten a chance to really look at this transformation before, but now… Lucy took it all in, and couldn't stop herself from smiling. "You're so adorable!" she squealed.

Elfman laughed, the sound coming out as half his own laughter and half a halting, rumbling purr of sorts. "Thanks, Lucy."

"Oh my goodness! You're a big, fluffy cat!"

He blushed when the blonde dropped her face to his chest and started nuzzling his fur, but still laughed as her fingers brushed through it all. "It's nothing special."

"It is!" Lucy hummed and gave him a brilliant smile. "Your fur is so soft!"

"Well," he said, hesitating and glancing out across the large field they were in. "Wanna see what I can do?"

Lucy nodded and sat back on her heels, watching as he sat up with her. She took his large, furry hand once he was standing and laughed as she was easily pulled to her feet.

Elfman crouched down onto all fours, then grinned at the blonde. "Hop on. I'll show you."

"H-Hop on?" Lucy asked. "As in…"

"My Weretiger Soul gives me enhanced speed. Bacchus was still too fast for it, but I haven't trained enough. We'll go run down to the lake that I smell on the other side of that hill, then back here."

"You can  _smell_  a lake?"

He nodded and crouched down lower, then helped her climb up onto his back. Her arms wound around his throat, but she wasn't choking him, and he grinned when she couldn't even get her legs remotely close to wrapping around his torso. "Yeah. Beasts have pretty good senses. You ready?"

"I-I think so."

"Hold on tight," he chuckled. The terrified shriek the blonde let out would have had him wincing if it wasn't for the utterly giddy laugh that left her on the very next inhale.

"This is amazing!" she yelled as he dashed across the field at breakneck speeds.

Never in his life would Elfman have thought someone would enjoy his magic this way. But, since it was Lucy, he was oddly fine with it.

 


	5. Friend

 

Three days had passed since Elfman and Lucy had their picnic. The blonde hadn't been able to stop thinking about just how much fun it had been to ride on his back while the Takeover mage had run across the field, and really, she couldn't wait to do something like that again. Except, they were still on the job and boy, had business picked up in just a couple days.

While neither had really anticipated having that day off to begin with, it had been just a small slice of heaven before all hell broke loose in the way of booming business for 8 Island. Yajima was over the moon, of course, and he'd hired two more cooks and another three waitresses from the nearby village, but they were all extremely wet behind the ears. Which left Lucy and Elfman picking up the slack while they were trained.

For the past two nights, the pair of mages had all but collapsed in their respective beds once they'd each showered. There hadn't been much time for them to chat, or do anything aside from work at the restaurant, then stumble their way to the hotel. The mornings were spent in near silence while they tried to rouse themselves enough to really get going for the day, and Elfman had been catching glimpses here and there of just how little energy Lucy had halfway through the day. Once the lunch rush died down, her smile would falter. He could see exhaustion in her every move, how she would clear tables just a little slower than normal.

By the fourth day, he realized why it was happening. Apparently, Lucy was also using their time at 8 Island to train by keeping one of her spirits out. Specifically, Gemini. It helped to explain why she was able to get so much work done in the mornings, because the little twin spirits were posing as the blonde and helping to get orders taken, then brought out to tables, as quickly as possible.

The few comments running through the building that he'd caught wind of, concerning how she seemed to always be in two places at once, clued him in. He didn't know all that much about her spirits, but he did remember Gemini from the Games. So, when the lunch rush was done, and he saw Lucy stumbling toward the back of the restaurant, he frowned and went to follow her.

Thankfully, he rounded the corner she'd turned just in time to see her sway. "Lucy!" he gasped, his arm shooting out to wrap around the blonde. The slight tremble in her limbs, and how her sneakers skidded on the floor when she tried to right herself, only had his brows pushing together as his concern for the blonde mounted. "Lucy, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," she whimpered. "Just… a little light-headed…" Her tongue dashed out across her lips, trying to find some semblance of moisture. "I-I'll be… fine…"

A second Lucy came around the corner with a smile, two overfilled bags of garbage in her hands. Once Gemi-Lucy's eyes landed on the sight of the real blonde's pale face, she stopped and looked up at Elfman. "We stayed too long again…"

He turned saddened eyes toward the copy, then looked back down at Lucy. "C'mon, you need to rest."

"N-No," she protested weakly. She wanted to prove to herself that she really was getting better at keeping her spirits out for extended periods of time. It was a great way for her to train, plus it helped out Yajima. His customers were just so happy that everything was running smoothly, that she didn't want to be difficult.

Elfman sighed as the twin spirits disappeared in his peripherals, carefully helping to make sure Lucy was standing on her own again. "You should lie down for a bit."

Trembling fingers swept her sweaty bangs from her forehead, and Lucy shook her head. She instantly regretted it when the room started spinning. "I'm alright, Elfman," she said slowly. "Get back to the kitchen. They probably need your help prepping for dinner."

He gave her a hard, scrutinizing stare, his large hands resting gently on her upper arms. "You sure?" he asked worriedly. "I mean-"

"I'm sure," she said, forcing a smile as she looked up at him. "I'll even lean against this wall for a minute before I take the trash out, okay? And I'll drink some water."

He kept staring at her, worry eating away at the edges of his mind until he finally sighed and pulled back. "Okay," Elfman nodded. "Just take it easy for a few."

Lucy let out a slow breath as she watched him turn and make his way back into the kitchen. She was just barely out of sight, but that was still enough for her. She quickly swiped at the sweat on her face with a spare washcloth, wincing as she dabbed at her neck and collarbones. She wanted to be fine, she really did, but she wasn't. It didn't take a genius to see what Elfman had, that she was pushing herself too hard again, but she just… She felt like she needed to.

But, if it was really time for Gemini to head back, and when she saw that she'd made it another five minutes of keeping them out, Lucy decided that she would just need to work twice as hard for the rest of the day to keep up the pace that she and her spirit had set.

She pulled away from the wall, not realizing that she'd been leaning on it in the first place, and the room tipped on its side when she bent down to grab the two trash bags that Gemi-Lucy had been carrying. One hand shot out to whatever was in front of her, trying to steady herself, and her eyes fluttered as her fingers weakly grabbed at the closest surface. What she belatedly realized was a wire shelving rack that wasn't all too stable.

A loud crash sounded from the back of the restaurant, followed by a cacophony of shattering glass and a low thud, and Elfman's eyes widened when the beasts within roared at the scent of blood in the air. The customers' conversations quieted for a moment, and the kitchen staff froze, except for him. Without a second thought, he turned on his heel and dashed around a counter, down the hall, and back to where he'd left Lucy. "Oh god," he whispered in horror.

Lucy was laid out on the floor with one of the shelving units tipped against the opposite wall, and all of its contents, four shelves worth of dishes that had just been cleaned and were in the process of drying, broken on the ground around and on top of her. She didn't seem to have any cuts anywhere on her arms or legs, but when he moves forward and pushed the two bags of trash away from her, the scent of her blood became overpowering. And then he saw it. An alarmingly large pool of crimson liquid was beneath her head, spreading out across the floor.

"Lucy!" Elfman shouted, dropping to a crouch and picking the blonde up. Quick footsteps rushed closer and as he turned, he found Yajima and the other waitresses staring at him with wide, horrified eyes. "I-I don't know what happened. She just… I-I don't know…"

Yajima took a quick glance at the back room - the toppled shelf, broken dishes, and the puddle of blood on the floor as well as the smeared blood on the edge of the sink - then over to Lucy and Elfman. "Take her into the office, Elfman. I've got a first aid kit in there. I'll be in to help you in just a minute."

"O-Okay," Elfman nodded weakly, rushing past everyone to do as the former Council member said. He quickly laid Lucy down on the floor, then shook out his hands in the hopes of getting them to stop quaking as badly as they were. His heart was pounding, and in that moment, he knew that he should have been more adamant about helping the blonde when he saw the state she was in before. He shouldn't have left her alone, even though she'd told him that she would be alright. "Lucy, can you hear me?" he whispered, fumbling with the little box that held the gauze he needed.

Yajima entered the office and placed a staying hand on Elfman's broad shoulder, giving him a patient smile. "Don't worry, my boy," he said, taking the kit from the hulking mage and easily opening it. "We'll get her fixed up."

"Sh-She's bleeding so much though," Elfman said, sitting back on his heels to let Yajima do what he was too frazzled to accomplish.

"She hit her head on the sink when she fell. Head injuries tend to bleed more." Yajima carefully cleaned the wound on her forehead, smiling when he saw a gash that was hardly more than an inch long just next to her hairline. "See? She won't even need stitches."

Elfman nodded, moving so he could place one of Lucy's limp hands between his own shaking ones. Just that little bit of contact helped to calm him down. It wasn't much, but it was something. In a matter of days, he'd grown more attached to the blonde, and all he could think of was what it would be like if this was Lisanna or Mira. He would have been just as scared if this was one of his sisters. "I-I should've stayed," he sighed. "It wasn't very manly of me to leave her back there when she was so low on her magic…"

"Ah," Yajima nodded in understanding. "She was using one of her spirits?"

"Yeah. Gemini…"

"Was that the one she used during her fight with Flare?"

Elfman nodded as he watched the older man place a small butterfly bandage on Lucy's forehead after cleaning the blood from her face. "She's been training, I guess… Keeping her spirits out longer. Gemini was helping her around the restaurant."

"Smart girl," Yajima chuckled, his eyes crinkling more than usual. "I was wondering how so much was getting done around here."

"She'll… She'll be okay, right?"

"Yes, my boy. She should wake up soon." His eyes strayed to the concerned mage before him, and he gave the pair of Fairy Tail mages a once over as Lucy started to stir a few minutes later. "I want you to take the rest of the day off, Elfman. Keep an eye on her."

"Yeah," Elfman instantly replied, watching as Lucy winced and lightly squeezing her hand for reassurance; although, if it was for her or himself, he wasn't too sure. "Lucy?"

The blonde let out a quiet, pained moan as her head shifted to the side, to where she'd heard a deep, garbled voice coming from.

Yajima carefully stood, wiping his hands down with a small alcohol pad until he could get to a sink. "She'll need rest," he said. "Her magic should replenish itself soon, but she should just take it easy for the day. And… With a head injury, she really doesn't need to go out saving the world."

Elfman chuckled and slowly lifted Lucy into his arms, then stood and followed Yajima to the office door. "I'll keep an eye out for a concussion," he added. "We have enough of those at the guild that everyone knows what to do for them."

"Yes," Yajima laughed good-naturedly. "Your guild is rather rambunctious."

Just before Elfman turned to take Lucy out of the back entrance, so as not to alarm any of the customers, he paused and frowned. "I already know Lucy will feel bad about breaking all the dishes, and-"

Yajima waved him off with a grin. "There's another six cases of those dishes in the basement," he chuckled. "They're relatively cheap anyway. And… I won't be deducting that from your pay for helping me."

"You… won't?"

"Of course not. Now, you get her to bed, and I'll send one of the girls down to your hotel in a little while with some lunch for the two of you. If she needs tomorrow off, just stay with her. I'll know if I don't see you two come in."

Elfman gave the older man an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Yajima. I'll do that." With a small nod in farewell, he turned and started heading out of the restaurant and toward the hotel room he shared with the slowly waking blonde.

"Elf... man?" Lucy slurred as her eyes slid open just a crack. "What…"

"You fell, Lucy," he whispered. "Hit your head pretty good, so Yajima's having me take you to lie down."

"I… fell?" she asked.

"Yeah, having Gemini out for so long… You passed out, hit your head on the sink."

As her vision cleared a little, Lucy sheepishly looked up into Elfman's worried blue eyes. "I… I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize, Lucy," he sighed, shaking his head. "I should've stayed with you. Made sure-"

"No, I shouldn't have…" She paused and closed her eyes again when her head started pounding a little more insistently, not realizing she'd let out a quiet whimper.

"Just relax," Elfman said, his voice soft and soothing as he pulled her just a little closer. "I'll take care of you, Lucy."

"Th-Thanks, Elfman," she whispered with a blush. She had no idea that he was also quite flushed in the cheeks as she tentatively grasped the lapel of his chef jacket and nuzzled his chest.

* * *

It was just before dinner that Lucy really felt better. Her magic was almost back up to where it should be, and after sleeping for a couple hours - with Elfman waking her up here and there just to check on her - and the food that was brought from the restaurant, she couldn't have been happier. Okay, and with the couple pills she'd taken for her headache. While she sat, reclined on the bed with the pillows from her bed and Elfman's propped up behind her, Lucy smiled at the Takeover mage. "Hey, Elfman?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think we could do something? Since we've got the rest of the day off, I mean," she said.

"Well," he sighed, "You really should just get some rest."

"But it's so boring here," she pouted. "What if we just went down to the lake?"

He frowned and took a seat next to her, on the edge of the bed, then carefully brushed her bangs away from her forehead to reveal the little cut and bandage. "You shouldn't get it wet though." He really had no problem taking Lucy down to the lake, if she wanted to go, but he also didn't want the blonde over-exerting herself again. Or getting sick from some weird bacteria getting into the cut on her forehead. Still, as he looked into her larger than normal doe eyes, and caught the slightest tremble that wriggled over her pouting lips, he found his resolve cracking.

"Please?" Lucy whispered, reaching up to pull his hand down from her head. "I'll tell you if I feel tired, or anything else, and we'll come right back. And I promise to take it easy. Even if it's just sticking my feet in the water, I'll be happy."

Elfman sighed and looked at where both of her hands were clasping one of his. The last time they'd been down at the lake, neither of them had really had the right clothing to take a dip in the water. But now… If they were planning on going, then Lucy would have a bathing suit, which meant he wouldn't be worried about her catching a cold while walking back to the hotel in soaked clothing. "I don't know if going to the lake is really what Yajima meant by taking it easy…"

"Pretty please, Elfman?" Lucy whispered, a hopeful smile on her face as she gently squeezed his hand. "I loved being out there with you a few days ago. It was so relaxing, and I had so much fun."

A light blush dusted across his cheeks while he looked away, and any semblance of an argument he could have made went flying out the window when Lucy's cheek rested itself in his hand. His eyes darted back to hers, and he finally rolled them and nodded. "Fine, I guess the warm water and fresh air would do you some good," he sighed. "But I want you to just  _relax_  while we're there. No swimming laps, or anything else."

Lucy nodded slowly, already knowing that if she did it too quickly, her head would start pounding. "You're the best, Elfman!" she giggled. "Such a real man!"

A loud, booming laugh bounced off of the walls, and he reached over to wrap his arm around Lucy's shoulders in a half-hug. "Way to butter me up."

A cheeky grin was his only response before the blonde got up and made her way to her bag, grabbed a bathing suit, then went to the bathroom to get changed.

* * *

Lucy let out a happy sigh as she waded into the lake, with Elfman right beside her and looking every which way for danger. The water was the perfect temperature. Not too hot, like it was in the middle of the day, and not too cool from being chilled overnight. It was perfect. "We're supposed to relax, Elfman," she laughed once the water was up to her chest.

"I am relaxed," he said, smiling down at the blonde. "I'm just making sure nothing's going to come out and surprise us." The way Lucy rolled her eyes at him reminded him so much of Lisanna that his smile widened. She really was just like both of his sisters. He watched as she slowly dipped her head underwater, then found an overly interesting ripple a few feet away as she surfaced, chest first, with her back arched.

"Do you think we could go for a swim?"

"Huh?" Elfman turned back to the blonde who was smiling up at him. "A swim? I don't know…"

"But just standing in the lake-"

"You did say you were just going to relax," he countered with a thoughtful frown.

"Yeah," she sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I did, didn't I?"

Elfman's brow pushed together as he looked down at the defeated looking blonde. He understood though. Just standing in the lake wasn't all that much fun, and he knew that she wanted to do more. Except, she was supposed to be taking it easy. While he was sure a little swimming on her part wouldn't hurt, he wasn't going to take anymore chances. A soft hiss sounded from deep within his mind, and he finally smiled again. "I know what we can do though."

"What's that?" Lucy asked, turning saddened eyes up to the larger mage.

Elfman took a small step back, his smile still plastered on his face. "I can show you another one of my Beast Souls," he chuckled. "And you hold on while I swim."

"Then I'm still relaxing, and not overexerting myself," Lucy grinned. "You're a genius!"

He flushed lightly and scratched the back of his head. "You ready?" When Lucy squealed and nodded, throwing her hands to her cheeks in her excitement, he laughed and shook his head. "Beast Soul," he called out, channeling his magic until his whole body was glowing gold. "Lizardman!"

Lucy gasped as the light died down, a wide grin on her face when the strange lizard creature that Elfman had turned into during his fight with Bacchus was before her. Just like the last time, she was over the moon to be able to see it up close. The deep green scales that covered his whole body, along with the pale green ones stretched over his chest and stomach, looked as hard as rock, and when she moved closer to test her theory, not realizing that he was going to blush up a storm because of it, Lucy found that she was right. Black spikes lined his arms, from his neck down to the backs of his overly large hands in two rows, looking as sharp as could be. She didn't want to test that theory out.

Elfman gave a small smile, although he couldn't be sure if it really looked like one, when her gaze returned to his face. "So, this is my Lizardman Soul."

Lucy giggled, her hands trailing up his chest to lightly touch the lizardlike face that had replaced his. Where the Weretiger Soul had at least had hints of Elfman in the features, this was completely different. The only sign that it was really her friend in there, was the long mane of white hair sprouting from the top of his head and running down the length of his back. And his gentle blue eyes. "I love it," she whispered.

Elfman slowly turned and looked over his shoulder at the blonde while he crouched down in the water. "Be careful of the spikes, okay? Lis says they're pretty sharp."

Lucy nodded and carefully pulled herself up on his back, finding the perfect spot between the two rows of spikes that ran down it on either side of his hair. "I'm not pulling your hair, am I?"

"Nope. You're fine." When her hands were grasping at his shoulders, in one of the small spaces between two of the spikes, he slowly leaned forward until she was simply lying on top of him.

"Oh my god, you have a tail, too!" Lucy giggled. Her laughter only increased when Elfman pushed his tail under the surface, then brought it up quickly to send a torrential splash down on the both of them.

The beasts within him growled and clicked and purred in contentment as he started to swim, making sure the slight weight of the blonde on his back was always present, and that she wasn't shifting uncomfortably. The fact that his Lizardman Soul had actually been more than willing to get let out so that Lucy could go for a swim was more than surprising, considering it was actually one of the least sociable of the Beast Souls. The thing hated almost everyone. But, Lucy… It liked her.

After several laps around the lake, with Elfman occasionally dipping under the water and taking Lucy with him, the blonde let go and lazily floated on her back off to his side. What she hadn't been expecting was for Elfman to swim up from beneath her, so she was still lying on him. Except now, it was her back to his chest, and it was skin instead of scales. Her head was resting on his shoulder as she laid along the length of his torso, her legs limply floating on top of his while he kept them afloat on top of the water. "E-Elfman?"

"Hm," he hummed, his eyes closing and a contented smile on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Floating," he chuckled. "And making sure you don't lift a finger. You're supposed to be resting."

"It doesn't take any energy to float," she said, her cheeks flushing brilliantly when she tried to move and her hands only slid along his stomach.

"It's fine," he replied. "Lis lets me do this sometimes. Mira, too."

"Your sisters use you as a floatie in water?" Lucy laughed, turning to look at him. The soft, serene smile on his face in that moment, when their eyes locked, had her blush deepening slightly.

"Yeah. Once when Lis sprained her ankle while we were training for the Games. She wanted to just float in the water, but it hurt too much. So, I helped her out.

Lucy looked one way, then the other, then back up to his face. "You do realize, there's enough room for three of me on your chest…"

Elfman nodded with a wide grin. "That just means you can stretch out and get comfortable. I said I'd take care of you, remember?"

Lucy rolled her eyes with a tender smile. "I remember," she whispered. Even though she'd been doing things here and there to make sure Elfman felt like he was needed, her passing out and hitting her head wasn't one of them. There was a line, after all. And putting herself in danger really wasn't something she was interested in doing for the sake of the Takeover Mage forgetting about his own problems for a little while. "You really don't mind?"

"Not at all," he answered, his eyes closing again when Lucy gave him a small smile and got herself comfortable.

* * *

It was their last night in town before they headed back to Magnolia that Elfman had another nightmare. He shot up in the bed, his eyes wide and his whole body shaking, instantly searching for his blonde companion. When he saw her sleeping soundly in the bed next to his own, he rubbed a hand over his face and slicked back his hair. This nightmare had been different than the others that had plagued him since leaving Magnolia. It started out the same, with the rejection from Evergreen, then morphed into Lucy lying on the floor of 8 Island with a pool of blood surrounding her. Instead of her waking up, her lifeless eyes had stared back at him until he'd woken up.

She was fast asleep now, though. He could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest, and how she shifted slightly to let her arm slide over her face. And he could hear the barely-there snore that stirred in the back of her throat when the blonde slept on her back. She was fine, still alive, and he hadn't killed her. Really, he knew it was ridiculous to think that the day she'd fallen and hurt herself had been his fault, but he could only chalk it all up to what his father had taught him.

" _Men take responsibility, Elfman. If a woman gets hurt on your watch, you'd better man up and take responsibility for it."_

The few things he'd learned from his father would always be with him, and he knew that wasn't going to change. But, as he tried to force himself to sleep a little while longer, at least until the sun was on the horizon, he found that he couldn't.

Elfman knew it was ridiculous, but he was scared. He didn't want the nightmares, and he didn't want the guilt. What he wanted, he couldn't rightly ask the blonde for, no matter how often she'd told him over the past two weeks they'd been on the job that she didn't mind helping him fall asleep.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there, listening to the blonde and staring at the blank ceiling, but eventually he was slipping out of his bed and silently padding his way over to hers. It had happened more often than he wanted to admit, but he wasn't going to fall asleep this time. Lucy never talked about the fact that she'd woken up with him sleeping partially on her bed, holding her hand, and he was definitely thankful for it.

So, he did the same thing he'd been doing over the past couple weeks. Carefully, making sure there wasn't a single sound aside from the slight shifting of material, he sat down on the floor at Lucy's bedside and settled his hand on one of hers, with his head resting on the edge of the bed. The last thing he wanted was for Lucy to wake up right then, because he knew that there would have to be some sort of explanation for what he was doing. It was innocent though. He just sat there and watched the blonde sleep, trying to find that small bit of comfort that he needed to sleep himself.

After several minutes, the blonde rolled onto her side, closer to the slow breaths and wonderfully comfortable heat on the edge of her bed. A heavy weight on one of her hands slowly pulled her from the depths of her dreams, and she woke to find herself curled around Elfman's head with the fingers on her free hand sifting through his hair. Really, she blamed Natsu for the habit. Now it happened whether she was conscious or not.

Elfman tensed slightly when he heard the change in Lucy's breathing, and he opened his eyes from an overly long blink to see her own barely cracked to look back at him. The sleepy smile on her face, partially lit by moonlight from the window across the room, and the quiet laugh that came from her had his own exhausted smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

Maybe it was because Lucy was mostly asleep by that point, but the sudden thought that occurred to her didn't seem like such a bad idea. "Come to bed," she whispered, pulling away from the Takeover mage to give him space to lie next to her.

He shook his head at that. "I've got my own," he yawned. "I'll be fine." As he moved to stand, Elfman paused when her grip on his hand tightened. His eyes locked onto Lucy's as she sat up, and he absently sat down on the bed when she started to lightly pull him closer.

"You should be comfortable," she whispered, rubbing her eyes. "And I don't want you sleeping on the floor. Or having another nightmare."

"But…"

A tired laugh escaped her, and she moved her overly uncoordinated limbs until she was kneeling beside him. "Lay down, silly," she giggled. "Just like at the lake."

Elfman frowned as he looked at the pillows on the bed, then the size of the bed itself. Hotel beds really weren't made for a guy his size, and with a second person it just wouldn't work. He took up almost all of his bed, and Lucy's was the same size. Still, he was beyond exhausted by that point. Whatever Lucy had been doing with her fingers in his hair had been so soothing, so relaxing, that he was more than ready to drop right there.

A shy smile pulled at Lucy's lips while Elfman hesitantly settled himself under the covers. Once he was situated, she lifted the blanket and carefully moved so she was lying entirely on his broad chest with her head resting on his shoulder. She felt his large hands smoothing the blanket over her back as he tucked the two of them back in, and a slow breath left her on the next exhale. "Nighty night, Elfman."

He relaxed just a little more as Lucy's hand slid up his chest and her nails gently skittered over his scalp. He didn't pay attention to the way her skin felt on his chest - considering she only wore a tank top and shorts to sleep - or how her breath felt as it glided over his flesh. Or even the fact that she didn't seem to mind one of his hands staying on her back, just under her shoulders, to keep her in place. Nope, the blonde was out like a light all over again, with her ear pressed to the spot just above his heart.

He had done everything in his power to not think about the fact that they were returning to Magnolia the next day, but something about being with Lucy right then made him feel like he was really ready to go back to the guild. The job had started as a way for him to forget, to push his heartbreak off to the side and try to find something good to make him smile. And it had worked. He'd been able to cook, to enjoy one of his hobbies and get paid for it for a change. But, most importantly, he'd gained a really great friend in the blonde Celestial mage. Lucy was a breath of fresh air when he hadn't realized that he needed one. She was sweet and kind, caring, funny, and a little on the dorky side from time to time. She appreciated the little things, and he'd even found out that she had no problem just sitting under a tree in complete silence, regardless of the time of day or night.

He might not be all the way where he wanted to be, and he knew that seeing Evergreen again would be painful, but Elfman also knew that, when he walked into the guild the next day, he would have something else. He'd have Lucy by his side, supporting him and giving him a giant smile to show how proud she was of him. She'd told him as much over dinner.

Because of that, he was just going to enjoy the dreamless sleep he knew was coming. Lucy didn't seem to mind that she was using him as a giant teddy bear, and he definitely didn't mind letting her do it. It was almost the same as when Mira used to sleep in the bed with him, so he could get a good night's rest; except, his sister had just slept next to him. Still, that didn't matter.

"Goodnight, Lucy," he whispered, letting his eyes drift closed as her fingers in his hair twitched and started moving in slow, uneven circles.  _'Lis was right… She really is the best friend in the world…'_

 


	6. Return

 

The walk from Jinju to Kunugi was filled with laughter floating between Elfman and Lucy. The nightmare he'd had the night before was forgotten, left behind in the hotel. Neither mage talked about how they had woken up together, or how Lucy had invited Elfman into her bed the night before. There wasn't any point in mentioning it, because they were both well-rested and happy.

Elfman was anxious about returning to the guild, but it wasn't like he could just never go back. Their job was done, and it was time to go and face the music. Luckily, he still had several hours with just Lucy.

Instead of spending the time on the train from Kunugi to Magnolia in silence, as he had on the trip out of Magnolia because Lucy had been sleeping on his arm, Elfman's laughter boomed through the train car. Lucy's own laughs could be heard growing louder as time went on. She still had a bit of a headache, but it was manageable.

And finally, once he and Lucy were in Magnolia, they were still smiling. It was mainly from Elfman telling her stories about his different Beast Souls and the shenanigans he'd gotten into on missions when they had wrested his complete control away just a little more.

He was honestly surprised that the town of Jinju didn't remember him. Just before the Games, his Lizardman soul had eaten a whole farm's worth of goats. Lucy had nearly been on the ground laughing at the image painted in her head of him waking up with a goat leg still in his mouth. While it hadn't been very funny to him when it happened, he was able to laugh about it with her. Especially when he added that an elderly woman had passed out when she saw him running naked through town and into the woods to vomit.

By the time they had reached the doors to the guild, Elfman wasn't focused on his previous anxiety concerning seeing Evergreen again. Lucy  _had_  told him just that morning that she might end up having taken a mission with her team, so it stood to reason that she wouldn't even be there when they arrived.

He opened the door and walked into the guild with Lucy by his side, tears streaming down her cheeks flushed with laughter.

"Welcome back!" Mira shouted from the bar, tossing her rag down and dashing from behind the counter to meet the two mages halfway through the guild. "How was it?"

"We had a great time," Elfman chuckled. He glanced down at Lucy when she started wheezing, rolling his eyes playfully. "Lucy, it's not that funny."

"There was… a goat leg… in your mouth," she gasped.

Mira bit her lips while she was pulled into her younger brother's arms, hugging him back tightly. "Elfman, it was pretty funny. Aside from the vomit."

"She's been laughing since the train station," Elfman smirked. "I think she's getting a little blue in the face."

Lucy fanned her face and took several deep breaths as Mira moved to hug her. Once she'd calmed down and hugged the eldest Strauss back, she gave Elfman a bright smile. "But we had a lot of fun."

"You were just at 8 Island," Mira said as they walked toward the bar for the two mages to take a seat, and so she could get back to work. "I heard from Yajima that he's already missing the two of you with how busy it is."

"Well, Lucy was using Gemini as a copy of herself," Elfman mused. "So, he technically had three of us for the price of two."

Lucy scanned the guild, searching for her team quickly and finding that they were missing. While she turned back toward the bar, she noticed Evergreen and the rest of the Raijinshuu sitting at their usual table. The Fairy mage wasn't looking at Elfman, instead quietly talking to Laxus, but as Lucy looked at the mage at her side, she found herself smiling.

Elfman wasn't searching the guild for Evergreen, and was instead already in a conversation with his sister.

"Oh, Lucy… You passed out?" Mira whispered worriedly.

"Yeah," she winced. "I kept Gemini out too long, and got pretty drained. But Elfman took me back to the hotel and made sure I stayed off my feet."

"She's a stubborn one, Mira," Elfman chuckled. He took a sip of the green tea that Kinana set on the bar in front of him. "She's got the puppy dog eyes down."

"Aw," Mira giggled. "What did you make my baby brother do, Lucy?"

"Take me to the lake so we could go for a dip," Lucy grinned around the straw of her smoothie.

"And then she went swimming with Lizardman," Elfman continued. "And we floated around for a bit."

"You used him as a floatie, didn't you," Mira laughed. When Lucy nodded, she simply rolled her eyes. Her younger brother was a sweetheart, that was for sure. He tended to spoil whoever he was spending time with, and didn't even bat an eye over it. Usually it was herself and Lisanna, but she really loved that he was branching out and spending time with someone else. It was rather surprising that his Lizardman soul was out with the blonde though; that one in particular was rather ornery. It didn't even like herself and Lisanna all that much.

"I never realized how comfy a person could be," Lucy said with a blush.

"It's because I'm-" Elfman began.

"You're MANLY!" Mira and Lucy shouted, each doing their own impression of Elfman flexing his muscles.

He grinned at the two, wrapping an arm around Lucy's shoulders in a half hug. "Mira, where's Lis at?"

"She took a mission with Team Natsu, since Lucy was gone," Mira smiled. She watched as Elfman's arm returned to his side instead of staying wrapped around the blonde, then her eyes flashed with excitement. "I think Natsu and Lisanna are going to be a couple soon."

"You say that every other week," Lucy smirked. "On the off weeks, you said he and I would be a couple."

"Yes," she sighed dramatically. "But that ship has sunk.  _SS NaLu_ is no more in the wake of the  _NaLi Schooner_!"

"You…" Lucy blinked slowly. "That's a medium-sized ship, Mira."

"You and Natsu were more of a sloop, Lucy," the barmaid shrugged.

"I feel like I've missed something," Elfman frowned.

"Just Gajeel over there questioning the man-danna hanging from your back pocket," Lucy replied, sending the suddenly scowling Slayer a playful wink. "He doesn't think it's very manly."

"What?!" Elfman roared, vaulting from his stool. "Gajeel!"

Lucy laughed when Gajeel jumped up from his table and punched Elfman in the face, sending him sailing into Vijeeter, who caught the larger mage and began twirling to some odd dance. Within moments, several other members had joined in the guild-wide brawl, after Elfman threw Vijeeter at Droy, who was sitting next to Levy. Jet tried to protect her and bumped into Droy, who had the same idea, and that was all she wrote.

"Lucy, you did that on purpose," Mira snickered.

"Of course I did," the blonde grinned. "Gajeel might not seem like it sometimes, but I've heard from Levy that he really loves the guild. And you know everyone saw what she did to your brother."

Mira looked out across the guild, watching as the whirlwind of dust and tangled limbs cleared just enough for her to see Elfman smiling. Then Gajeel sending Lucy a wide grin before getting sucker punched by Jet.

"We're all family here," Lucy continued as Mira turned back to her. "We take care of each other."

Elfman went sailing through the air, his large body crashing into the stool next to Lucy's. With a wild yell, he hopped to his feet and wrapped his arm around the blonde. "C'mon, Lucy!" he laughed. "You're not staying out of this one!"

"What?!" she screeched. "No, wait!"

Mira laughed as terrified brown eyes locked onto hers.

"Mira, help me!"

The silver-haired barmaid waved her rag. "Have fun, Lucy! Show those guys what a real  _woman_  can do!"

"Lucy's a real man!"

"I'm not a man!"

"Those don't feel manly, Bunny Girl! SHIT! Don't punch me!"

"Don't touch my boobs!"

"Real men don't grope women!"

Mira rolled her eyes as Elfman's shifted into his Beast Arm, her younger brother picking the Iron Slayer up and throwing him up toward the rafters.

"Mira," Lucy bellowed. "You're dead meat when I get out of this!"

Makarov laughed as he hopped up onto the bar. "It's so good to see my children having fun."

"Oh god! My top!"

Elfman's cheeks burned brightly as Lucy barreled into him, catching a small glimpse of the sides of Lucy's suddenly bare breasts and feeling the soft mounds pressing into his belt. Instead of focusing on the fighting around them, he looked down to see her cowering against his stomach, trying to hide herself. He pulled the bandana from his back pocket and unfolded it, wrapping an arm around her as he led the blonde out of the tussle and toward the bar. "Sorry about that," he chuckled. "You can use this."

Mira watched curiously as Elfman folded his normal training bandana diagonally. She blinked as Lucy quickly took it and pulled the bit of fabric between herself and him, then handed Elfman the ends of the fabric.

"It seems Lucy's clothing became a casualty," Makarov mused, blinking at the sight of the blonde's bare back and hoping he wouldn't pass out from a nosebleed. While also hoping she would turn around, just so he could die a happy man.

Elfman carefully tied the bandana around the blonde, giving her a sheepish smile once he could see her bright red face. All he could hope was that he wouldn't get her famed Lucy Kick for accidentally ripping her tank top. Granted, he'd thought she was someone else - namely, Gajeel - and hadn't really meant for one of the claws on his Beast Arm to tear the fabric.

Lucy blew her bangs out of her eyes and looked down at the bandana that Elfman had placed in his pocket that morning. Really, she couldn't even be surprised that it was big enough to fit over her chest. He had a big head, and she already knew that his bandanas were just a little larger than normal ones. Thankfully, it was a pale blue, and didn't clash with her black mini-skirt.

"Sorry," Elfman whispered as she looked up at him again.

"It's alright," she whispered back, the flush never leaving her cheeks. "But, I think I'm gonna stay out of the guild brawls."

"Probably for the best," he laughed. "I, uh… didn't really think that'd happen." He winced when Lucy tucked her hair behind her ear, catching a glimpse of the little bandage on her forehead from the fall she'd had in Yajima's kitchen. "Oh, how's your head feeling?"

Lucy shrugged and walked back over to the bar with Elfman hovering worriedly by her side. "It's fine," she said with a small smile.

"Elfman, get back over here!" Gajeel roared. "My bandana's  _way_  better than yours!"

The Takeover mage blinked, looking from his own that was acting as a shirt for the blonde Celestial mage, over to the wickedly grinning Iron Slayer.

"Go get him," Lucy laughed, lightly punching Elfman's stomach. "No way is his bandana better. I bet it's too small to be a shirt."

Elfman grinned down at the blonde and went dashing back into the fray. "That's not a bandana!" he bellowed. "That's a headband!"

Mira placed another smoothie in front of the blonde, her brow raised in silent question. "I thought you would have kicked him," she said. "Natsu sure would have gotten kicked."

"Nah," Lucy smirked. "If it was Natsu, everyone would have seen my chest, and he would have laughed about it."

"So, Elfman gets a pass for helping to cover you up?" Mira asked.

"Exactly." After a moment, Lucy frowned. "I'm surprised you're not getting all  _shippy_  over what your brother did."

Mira shrugged. "I try to stay out of my siblings' love lives."

"Except Lisanna and Natsu."

"They're  _destined_  to be together," Mira sighed wistfully.

"You terrify me," Lucy shuddered. Her eyes widened when she saw the barmaid's eyes turning into hearts. "How… That isn't even physically possible… M-Mira? Mira stop looking like that!"

* * *

"Lis!" Lucy shouted as she ran into the guild, rushing past her guild mates and over to her friend's table with Elfman. "You'll never believe what happened!"

Lisanna turned and grinned at the flushed blonde as she plopped down on the bench. "What happened?" she laughed. "Okay, catch your breath,  _then_  tell me what happened."

"Hey, Lucy," Elfman chuckled.

Lucy nodded, pulling in much needed oxygen and resting her head on the table. "Hey, Elfman," she panted. Once she could breathe again, she lifted her head and gave the youngest Strauss a bright, blinding smile. "Lis, you remember how I told you about the really cute guy down at the library that I see every once in a while, and how he's always got these great suggestions on books to read, and that one time where we had checked out the same book and I spent the whole afternoon talking to him and analyzing what happened, and-"

"Lucy!" Lisanna laughed, throwing a hand over the blonde's mouth. "Even if I didn't remember him, you've told me enough. But, I do. So, what's up?"

Lucy ripped the slender fingers away from her, nearly falling from her seat out of excitement. "He asked me on a date!"

"He did?!" Lisanna screeched.

"Yes!"

Elfman blinked as the two descended into a fit of high pitched squeals and giggles. When Mira stopped by the table, he turned to his older sister. "Lucy got asked on a date," he said when she looked at him curiously. "Some guy from the library."

"Oh my god!" Mira shrieked, rushing over to the other girls and quickly joining in on their conversation. "Lucy! Tell me everything!"

"Wow," Elfman whispered in horror. He knew his older sister was bad, but he'd never really seen this level of insanity reaching out from her.

"He's got black hair," Lucy gushed. "And it's long, but not too long, y'know? A little past his shoulders, and oh my god. It just looks so soft! And he has the prettiest green eyes, that just look right into your soul!"

"Oh, the babies!" Mira giggled.

"He looks like he plays the piano," Lucy said, stretching her hands out in front of her. "He's got these long, thin fingers, and they're soft and… Just…"

"How would you know his hands are soft?" Lisanna smirked, watching as Lucy's cheeks darkened.

"W-Well, he might have been holding my hands when h-he asked me out," Lucy mumbled.

"But, what are you going to wear? When is it?" Mira asked with wide eyes. "Oh, we'll have to get you ready!"

"Tomorrow," Lucy said breathlessly. "M-Mira, Lis… I-I've never been on a date before!"

"Where's he taking you?"

Elfman ran a hand over his face and tuned out the girls' conversation. He was happy for Lucy, for sure, but his gaze ended up straying over to the Raijinshuu's table. Thankfully, he'd seen Evergreen leaving with her team a few hours earlier. He hadn't been able to help watching her walk out with the three men that were such an important part of her life. She had always been on his mind before, and she was still on his mind then.

He just had to find something to distract himself. Especially since he was sure he'd be getting a headache if he kept listening to them. With that thought in mind, he leaned over and kissed Lisanna's and Mira's cheeks, then stood and patted Lucy on the back as he walked off toward where Natsu and the rest of Lucy's team were sitting.

Once he was there, he leaned down to Erza and cleared his throat to gather her attention away from the three-layer cake in front of her. "Lucy has some news," he whispered to the redhead. "Go ahead and get Levy, then head over there. She'll probably need some advice."

Erza looked from Elfman over to where Lucy was surrounded by the Strauss sisters, then back to Elfman. "What is it about?" she asked curiously.

"You'll have to find out from her," he chuckled. "It sounded like a girl thing. Something about a guy...?"

Erza blinked in surprise and stood from her seat, lifting her cake and walking over toward where Levy was sitting next to Gajeel. After a quick word, they were both sitting down at Lucy's table, instantly chattering happily with the blonde.

Elfman took a seat and grinned at Natsu and Gray's confused expressions. "Trust me, you don't want to know." After a moment, he smirked. "Natsu, arm wrestle."

"Hell yes! I'm all fired up!" Natsu bellowed.

Gray sighed and dropped his head to one hand. "It's just an arm wrestling match," he muttered. "Don't get so excited."

Elfman chuckled as his hand locked with Natsu's, catching the grateful smile that Lucy sent him when he looked over to her table. He smiled right back at her and nodded. Really, he just hoped that her love life would be more successful than his own was. So far, with her at least having a date, she was doing alright.

* * *

It was nearly eight at night when Elfman heard a knock on the front door of the house he and his sisters shared. They weren't really expecting anyone at that time of the night, and he knew it couldn't be Mira, since she was going to be spending some time with Freed at the guild. He carefully set down the container that was marinating meat for the following day and wiped his hands on a towel while walking to answer the door.

The last thing he'd expected was to see Lucy dressed up so beautifully with her makeup smudged and lines of mascara-filled tears running down her cheeks. The heels she'd been wearing were held in one hand by the straps that had wrapped around her ankles.

"H-Hey, Elfman," Lucy sniffled. "Is L-Lisanna here?"

He frowned as he said, "No, Natsu took her out on a fishing trip. They said they wouldn't be back until tomorrow."

"O-Oh… M-Mira?"

"She went back to the guild."

"... Oh…"

He recognized the dress she was wearing though. The little pale blue sundress that he'd seen her leaving their house in earlier that night to go on the date with whoever the guy from the library was. Elfman had been making dinner so Lisanna and Mira could help Lucy get ready, and he'd only caught sight of her when she waved to him before walking out. But now…

"I-I'll just-"

"Come on in," Elfman said gently. When she hesitated, he moved forward and wrapped an arm around her shuddering shoulders, carefully leading her inside. Once the door was closed, he bit his lip as he looked down at her, then slowly pulled the heels from her hand and set them just inside the door. "Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

Lucy nodded silently, letting him walk her through the house with her head down. She didn't really pay attention to where Elfman was taking her, instead trying to get herself to stop crying, and to sniffle as silently as possible. Neither worked, though.

Elfman walked Lucy to his bedroom and gently sat her down on the bed, then knelt in front of the crying blonde. "Wanna talk to me about it?" he whispered.

Lucy shrugged, keeping her eyes locked onto where her hands were clasped in her lap. One of his covered them, and she didn't fight the small bit of pressure under her chin, forcing her to look at him. Her lip quivered when she saw how worried he was. And how sad he was. And suddenly, she was reminded of the time just a few weeks prior, when their roles had been reversed. When he'd been the one that was hurting, and she'd been right by his side, willing to let him cry it all out.

Elfman let out a sad smile when Lucy lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and openly sobbing. One hand moved to gently cradle her head, his other arm winding around her waist. "It's alright," he whispered.

"H-He was s-so sweet!" she sobbed.

"What happened?" Elfman didn't expect an answer right away with how much Lucy was shaking, and when she tried to explain it, he couldn't make heads or tails of what was actually being said. Instead he just held onto the blonde and let her cry.

Finally, when her throat was raw and she felt as though the tears just couldn't come any longer, Lucy let out shaky breath. She didn't try to pull away from him though, and she was silently thankful that he wasn't pushing her away either.

"So," Elfman chuckled uncomfortably, "I didn't really catch what you were saying."

She sniffled and rested her chin on his shoulder, swiping away the tears on her cheeks. "W-Well, the date was nice and we had dinner and… He was so smart, and funny."

"Sounds nice," he nodded.

"It was, until we left the restaurant. He walked me down to the pier, and we were just looking at the stars, and… Then he tried to kiss me and I told him no."

Elfman nodded again, frowning when she took a shaky breath.

"S-So he tried again, and I… I said I wanted to go home, and that I wasn't going to kiss him on the first date, and… Th-Then he got really angry and…"

"What did he do, Lucy?" Elfman said gently, his grip on her tightening as she did the same.

"H-He said I was just a… a tease," she whimpered. "And a prude. Th-That he shouldn't have w-wasted his time if I wasn't going to sleep with him…"

"That's…" Elfman scowled and drew back, his bright blue eyes burning angrily. "That's not manly at all."

Lucy shrunk in on herself marginally. "M-Maybe he had a point though. I mean, I  _dress_  like-"

"Lucy," Elfman hissed, watching as her head snapped up and her widened eyes locked onto his. "Don't  _ever_  say that. It doesn't matter how you dress. You get to choose when you do something like that, and if that guy couldn't accept that you just didn't want to kiss him, then he doesn't deserve to be called a  _boy_ , much less a  _man_."

Really, Elfman couldn't even believe that Lucy had been on the verge of saying something like that. He'd heard enough girl talk over the last day alone - not even counting what Mira said while she was in her own little world, or when she and Lisanna were talking around the house - to know that it was Lucy's first date, and would have been her first kiss. His eldest sister had been throwing out pointers left and right while Lucy and Lisanna had been trying to make Mira understand that she wasn't going to be kissing anyone that night.

Lucy, on the other hand, was just a little scared of the look in Elfman's eyes. It was much wilder, more untamed, than she'd ever seen from him before, but just as she was starting to really worry about what was going to happen, he took a deep breath and gave her a gentle smile. And just like a light switch, her friend was back.

"You could become a nudist, and it  _still_  wouldn't give anyone the right to think you're anything other than who you are."

"You think so?" she whispered sheepishly.

"I know so," he nodded. "Because you're not the kind of person that would do something like that. And I know you wouldn't lead someone on. That idiot was just looking for something that you weren't ready to do, and he blamed you for it because he's too insecure to admit that he's a piece of trash. You don't have a thing to worry about."

While he was smiling on the outside, Elfman was finding himself just a little surprised that the beasts within were all roaring in anger. He was sure his control had slipped for just a moment, and that Lucy had seen a small glimmer of what it was like if he lost control, but he'd managed to rein them back in. Barely.

He gave her one more hug, then stood up and took in the sight of her slightly crumpled dress and bare, dirty feet. Without a word, he took Lucy's hands and helped her stand, then led her to the bathroom that he and Lisanna shared. "How about you get a shower, and I'll find you something to change into?" he asked softly.

Lucy nodded and let out a shaky breath as the door closed behind her. Maybe Elfman had a point though. Lucy was inexperienced where relationships were concerned, but that didn't mean that she needed to just give up on her own morals because of one guy. She knew plenty of people who waited to have sex, and just as many guys who didn't always have that on their minds.

She went through the motions of showering, then spent several minutes just trying to get her runny makeup off. Finally, Lucy was cleaned and wrapped in a towel, with her bra and panties on underneath, and she walked out of the bathroom and back toward Elfman's room.

It was when she saw him sitting on his bed waiting for her, with his hands clasped and his elbows resting on his knees, that Lucy took the time to really look around his room. She'd seen his bedroom in passing the times that she had stayed the night, but Lucy had never been inside before.

The room was mostly bare, with just a bed, dresser, and nightstand taking up the small space. Aside from that, there was nothing much to look at. Besides, Elfman was her goal.

He looked up when Lucy came into the room and stood while handing her the overly large shirt he'd taken from his dresser. "You'd probably be more comfortable wearing something of Lisanna's or Mira's, but… I didn't want to go through their clothes without their permission." The last time he'd even considered doing it, finding a shirt for Lisanna when Mira wasn't around, his younger sister had given him quite the lecture about going through women's belongings without their permission. And just the thought of what Mira might do to him, should she find out that he'd actually been digging around in her dresser, was enough for Elfman to stay away.

Lucy giggled as she accepted the shirt. "It's fine, Elfman. Thanks for this."

"It's just a shirt," he chuckled. He turned and faced the opposite wall so she could get changed, not hearing the front door open and close over the soft shuffle of fabric.

Mira walked through the house, frowning when she didn't hear anything. Normally when Elfman was at the house by himself, he would be exercising or cooking. But he wasn't in the living room or the kitchen. Silently she walked through the house, pausing when she saw that his bedroom door was open and the light was on.

A soft sniffle drew the barmaid's attention, and she crept closer, her eyes widening when she saw Lucy in just a bra and panties, pulling on one of Elfman's shirts. Her younger brother was standing several feet away with his back to the blonde.  _'Why's Lucy here? And crying?'_  She bit her lips to stay silent, and then saw the pale blue sundress the blonde had been dressed up in for her date lying on Elfman's bed.

Lucy turned toward Elfman with a small smile. "I'm all dressed now," she said softly. "You can turn around." Once he was facing her again, she moved forward and hugged him yet again. "Thanks, Elfman."

"It's no problem, Lucy," he smiled, his arms dwarfing her much smaller body. "That guy was an idiot. No point in crying over some jerk, right?"

Mira's eyes narrowed when Lucy nodded. If that was the case, then she was going to be sure to find whoever the idiot was that had upset the blonde Celestial mage, and make him pay dearly. Lucy had been over the moon about her date, and even though Mira was fully aware of the fact that she went a little overboard when trying to get couples together, she knew that the blonde had a good head on her shoulders.

When the two turned toward the bedroom door, Mira shuffled back and out of sight, then made a silent dash to the living room. The last thing she needed was the two of them knowing that she'd been eavesdropping.

"I've got an idea," Elfman said as he led Lucy to the kitchen. "Something to cheer you up."

"What's that?" she asked, looking up to see him smiling.

Mira sat in the darkness of the living room, her feet pulled up onto the cushion. The sound of the refrigerator opening and closing, then glass being set down on the counter. She waited for a couple minutes, then watched as Lucy carried two bowls out of the kitchen, waiting for Elfman to follow.

He appeared a moment later, and Mira's head tilted to the side when they started walking toward the back door. Slowly, once they were outside, she crept over to one of the dining room windows and watched as Elfman shifted into his Weretiger Soul and lifted Lucy into his furry arms. Not a moment later, her brother was jumping and landing on the roof.

"What in the world are they doing?" she whispered to herself.

With a sigh, Mira walked back to the kitchen and smiled when she found a third bowl sitting on the counter with three large scoops of chocolate ice cream and a spoon already in it. That could only mean that Elfman had known she was there the whole time. And really, Mira couldn't be upset with him over not mentioning her being there. It just meant that he was getting more in tune with the beast souls he'd collected, and that they were slowly starting to enhance his senses.

She grabbed the bowl and sat down in a window seat in the dining room, Lisanna's favorite spot to read during the summer when there was a nice breeze running through the house. She opened the window and gazed out at the stars, easily able to hear the conversation between the two mages on the roof.

"What was his name again?" Elfman asked.

"Blaire."

"That's a pretty unmanly name." Mira could hear her brother's smirk.

Lucy laughed softly. "I thought so, too. But… Oh well. He's not worth my time, right?"

"That's right." They were silent for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Lucy."

"Yeah?"

"If you ever have a bad day… You can come to me too, okay? I know it's probably not the same as spending time with Lisanna, but… You helped me when I needed someone."

"Thanks, Elfman," Lucy whispered back. Mira could already picture the soft smile on the blonde's face. "And y'know… I love hanging out with you, too. It's not the same as Lis, but…"

"But what?"

"Well, it's nice to see that real men are still out there," Lucy laughed.

Mira's smile widened while she gazed at the stars hanging above Earthland. That was something that she just knew her brother had needed to hear. The one thing that he was just a little self-conscious over. She was sure that it had only made him feel more inadequate after being rejected by Evergreen.

"Well, you're pretty manly yourself," Elfman chuckled.

"But, not  _too_  manly right?" Lucy teased. "I'm still a girl."

"Nope. You've got the right amount of manliness."

"Thank goodness."

' _I've never heard Elfman like this before…'_  Mira thought. _'He sounds so happy though.'_ She was suddenly more than thankful that Lucy had been the one to come to Elfman's aid the day Evergreen had torn his heart out. She was sure, if it had been anyone else, he wouldn't be smiling and laughing already.

The barmaid took the final bite of her ice cream with a happy sigh. She was going to have to get up in a minute to get Lisanna's room ready for Lucy to sleep in, since she was sure the blonde wouldn't want to stay on the couch or in Elfman's room. But for just a little while longer, she listened to the two mages on the roof laughing and joking around, both of them just enjoying each other's company instead of worrying about failed attempts at relationships.

 


	7. Controlling the Beast

 

With a bright smile on her face, Lucy walked into the guild and made her way over to Elfman's table. It had been a week since her failed attempt at dating, and the blonde was more than thankful that she'd had Elfman to talk to that night.

It gave the blonde something to look forward to, and reminded her that there  _were_  guys out there that weren't only looking for a hole to bang. Some guys really wanted to be in a relationship, to have some sort of connection with a woman.

And talking with Mira the next morning, after having thanked the barmaid for preparing Lisanna's room to sleep in, had given Lucy a little bit more confidence. Mira definitely hadn't been happy about the turn of events concerning Lucy's night, but there had been one big piece of advice that the blonde took to heart.

Not everyone could handle being in a relationship with a guild mage, and most mages before her had set a horrible standard. Apparently, it was more common than Lucy had realized for even women to take a man to bed for a night, then act as though it never happened afterwards, because they were always on jobs and travelling.

But that wasn't what the Celestial mage wanted. Every time she looked at Alzack and Bisca, she could see that a relationship  _could_  work while being a mage. They were married and had a daughter together. It could happen.

So, as Lucy sat down beside the enormous Takeover mage with a smile on her face, she decided then and there that she wouldn't just give up on it altogether. One bad date shouldn't ruin her opinion of men entirely, after all.

"Good morning, Elfman," she grinned.

"... Morning."

Her smile faltered and she turned to look up at him. Only to find the man at her side staring down at the table, toying with the eggs and bacon that were sitting in front of him. "What's wrong?"

"She's back." His gaze drifted across the guild hall, landing on the brunette Fairy mage who was sitting with her team, fanning her too-beautiful face and slender throat. He'd gone so long without seeing Evergreen that she just seemed more breathtaking than normal. Maybe it would have been better if he'd at least seen her after getting back from his mission with Lucy. Then he could have dealt with that fresh wave of pain over the past week, and maybe it wouldn't have been as though Natsu lit his hands on fire and punched him right in the heart.

"I see," Lucy whispered with a frown. She didn't look at Evergreen though. There was no point in doing it, and Lucy already knew that if she tried right then, it wouldn't be the nicest look in the world.

And when she thought about it, that wasn't something that needed to happen in the guild. The Raijinshuu, for all their oddities, were still members of Fairy Tail, still nakama. And the last thing Lucy wanted was for there to be a divide of any kind in the guild. Everyone knew what Evergreen had said to Elfman to rip his heart out, and Lucy was sure that some people thought she would never change.

With a shake of her head, the blonde smiled again. "Wanna do something with me today?"

"I don't know," Elfman sighed, looking back down at his plate.

"Oh, come on," she laughed, playfully pushing his muscular arm. He didn't budge an inch. "The weather's great out. We should do something."

"Like what?"

"Like…" Lucy bit her lip in thought and sent her gaze darting around the guild. There had to be something they could do. She paused at the mission board for a second, then instantly threw that idea out the window. Elfman needed to stick around, not keep running away every time he saw Evergreen. Getting him out of his seat might help though.

"Oh," she laughed. "Well, we could go swimming again. The pool's open, and-"

"I don't know, Lucy," Elfman muttered. "I think I just want to be alone right now."

"O-Oh…" Her smile deflated again, and her brow furrowed in concern. She knew for a fact that the hulking mage loved being around people. But, was this really a hint that she needed to back off? To stop being pushy? Or was it just that he was trying to push her away because he was upset? "Well, I just figured…"

"You figured that I needed you to get me out of this funk," he nodded bitterly. "I can depend on myself too, you know."

"Elfman, I never said you couldn't," she frowned. "I don't have anything going on today, and wanted to hang out."

"Well, I don't feel like it."

"Fine," she whispered, slowly standing from the table. "If you change your mind, I'll be around, okay?"

"Yeah…"

Lucy's confused frown stayed in place while she made her way over to the bar, but she paused and looked over at Evergreen, then changed course and stopped at the Raijinshuu's table.

Evergreen looked from Bickslow over to the blonde that was standing next to him, but she didn't say a word. The look on the Celestial mage's face wasn't really one that boded well for her, she figured.

"Evergreen," Lucy said softly.

"Lucy," the brunette nodded.

"I just, um… I wanted to say that I don't hold anything that happened a couple weeks back against you," Lucy said more clearly. "That's your business, and even though it upset me that my friend was hurt in the process, that's between the two of you."

Evergreen blinked in confusion.

"And…" Lucy sighed and glanced back toward Elfman for a moment. "And no matter what happens, you're still nakama."

"Why does it sound like this is an apology?" Evergreen frowned.

"It isn't," Lucy replied. "I'm not sorry for slapping the everloving shit out of you."

Bickslow snorted into his drink.

"I just don't want you to think that I hate you for all that drama," the blonde continued. "So, that's all." Without another word, and not giving the Fairy mage a chance to respond, Lucy walked past the bar and gave Mira a strained smile. She really wasn't sure what to do with herself, since she'd kind of been hoping that Elfman would want to spend time together that day.

Maybe if she waited for Natsu and her team to get there, they would have an idea of something to do. But, until then, it was probably for the best if she went out to the training grounds.

A rather lengthy conversation with Capricorn the night before had her agreeing to summon him soon to work out a training schedule. One that she would actually stick to. When he'd figured out how to open his gate, she wasn't sure, but it had terrified her to find the Goat spirit standing outside of her shower with a towel, waiting to dry her off.

"Well, there's Erza," she said, wincing at the sight of her redheaded friend cutting training dummies to ribbons with only one sword. It wouldn't take the whole place for her to just talk with her spirit, so Lucy plopped down in a seat on the bleachers, near the top row, and quietly summoned him.

"Miss Lucy," Capricorn said, bowing before taking a seat.

"So, you wanted to talk about training?"

"Yes," he nodded. "And a diet. As I have said, you would fare better if you took off just a few pounds. It would increase your stamina, and…"

Lucy sighed while pulling out her notebook and pen, starting to take notes on what the Goat spirit was telling her. Apparently, he'd been able to help her mother get back in shape quickly after giving birth, and when she listened to what he was saying, it wasn't actually all that ridiculous. Cutting portions, increasing protein intake, and actually exercising. That wouldn't be too hard.

"Now, about this business with you over-exerting yourself…"

Lucy grimaced as he started in on a lecture, ducking her head in shame. And the day had started out so well…

* * *

"Elfman, is everything alright?"

The hulking Take Over mage let out a heavy sigh as his younger sister's voice came drifting through the air. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to just force himself to stay at the guild. It was the same question, over and over, with everyone just wanting to be helpful. He could see that they were all worried, since he wasn't smiling or getting into brawls, but once Lucy had opened the can of worms, that was all there was to it.

"Yeah, Lisanna," he muttered while staring down at his plate. "Just a crummy day, I guess."

"Well, Lucy seemed like she wanted to spend time with you earlier, and-"

"And I don't need to have Lucy treating me like a baby," he frowned. "I'm a man, okay? I can take care of myself."

She blinked in surprise, then turned toward the bar to try and catch Mira's attention. Sadly, their older sister was too busy at the moment. "Elfman, no one ever said you couldn't."

"But you all think it," he huffed. "I ran out of here, crying like a little girl, and now everyone just-"

"Elfman, you were hurt," she said in earnest, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "It's okay to express yourself."

"I'm starting to think it isn't." He scowled while pulling his arm from her grasp more sharply than he'd intended. Why couldn't anyone see that he didn't want their pity? He just wanted to try and get through the day without running with his tail between his legs. And even though it was already dinner time and Evergreen had left for the day, all he could think about was how much he wanted to go and be with her.

And how stupid it was for him to be pining for the woman that didn't want anything to do with him, and had made it perfectly clear that she never would.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm 'expressing' myself right now," he replied. "I'm in a bad mood, so just let me be in one. You don't need to make me feel better, Lis. Leave me alone."

"Elfman-"

"Shut up!" he roared, standing from his seat and knocking the bench back. In an instant, everyone nearby turned sharply to stare at him. "Just leave me alone, okay?!"

Lisanna scrambled to her feet and took a slow step backwards when she saw the flash of unseeing anger in his eyes. "Elfman, it's alright," she whispered carefully. "Just calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down," he sneered. "I don't need to calm down!"

"Whoa, man," Jet said, coming to stand next to Lisanna. "Relax, okay?"

"I  _am_  relaxed!"

Lisanna gasped and took another quick step back when Elfman's fist slammed down onto the table. The wood splintered and cracked under the weight, and her eyes widened in horror when she saw that it was no longer Elfman's arm, but one of his Beast's.

The tan skin rippled as it continued shifting until everything from his shoulder downward was covered in sea green scales. Webbing stretched between his fingers that grew wicked, sharp talons. It wasn't his Lizardman soul though. She'd never seen this one before.

"Mira!" Lisanna refused to take her eyes from her older brother, even while calling for the barmaid.

Elfman stalked forward, his eyes shifting to an unnatural yellow and the pupils elongating into diagonal slits. "I'm fine," he growled while towering over his younger sister and the guild's High Speed mage.

"Elfman!" Mira shouted. She darted from behind the bar just as his other arm started to shift, shoving guild members back as she moved closer. "Elfman, stop!"

"Stop telling me what to do!" he roared. Blinding rage swept over him, burning him from the inside as the deep hiss in his head grew louder. Just as Mira appeared, pushing Lisanna and Jet behind her, his magic swelled and burst so violently that the ground shook and the windows of the guild rattled in warning.

"Elfman, you have to calm down," Mira said as his voice shifted into an ominous, bone-chilling hiss. "It's okay! Just breathe!"

"Everyone, get back!" Lisanna grabbed Jet and started pulling him further away from her brother as she felt Mira's magic in the air.

Elfman's clawed hands clenched into fists, and his feet moved without a thought as movement behind Mira caught his eye. Faster than the elder Strauss sister could blink, he was past her and barreling through a wooden pillar on a direct path toward Lucy as she came in from the training grounds.

"Lucy, watch out!" Lisanna screamed.

The blonde's eyes went wide when a shadow fell over her. She barely recognized Elfman when she looked up into his eyes, seeing only the green and gold scales stretching up from his chest and his snakelike snout. Fangs that threatened to tear her in half as he snarled. "Elfm-"

Searing pain burst across her cheek and her head snapped to one side as the blonde was knocked from her feet and through the air.

"Lucy!"

She crashed into the far wall and slid down to the floor in a limp heap as Elfman ran through the door and out into the training grounds. Lisanna pushed past Mira just before the older mage ran out of the guild to chase down their brother. She didn't pay attention to the wooden floor scraping her knees as she skidded to a stop next to the blonde. "Lucy?"

Lisanna's blood ran cold at the scent of poison in the air that she could just barely pick up. She brushed Lucy's hair back from her face, and the sight of two pale yellow quills protruding from her cheek had a shuddering gasp barely filling her lungs. "Where's Wendy?"

"A mission, I think," Jet said as he came to kneel at her side. "Is she-"

"We need Porlyusica," Lisanna whispered in horror. "It's poisoned."

"What the hell was he thinking?"

Lisanna shook her head, then drew back in surprise as the blonde was lifted. Her eyes drifted up to see Bickslow's visor as he turned away and started toward the infirmary. "Bickslow?"

"Cosplayer needs to get into a bed," he said. "Jet, you wanna go and get Porlyusica? Probably be faster that way."

Lisanna stood and followed the Seith mage as he took Lucy up to the second floor and down the hall.

"Why are you lookin' at me like that?" he chuckled.

"Like what?"

"Like you're watching a bird hatching from an egg."

She bit her lips to stop herself from laughing, then shook her head. "Sorry, I just didn't expect you to come help her."

Bickslow shrugged while she opened the door for him, taking the blonde inside. Once she was lying down on a bed, he turned to the youngest Strauss. "I was the closest," he finally said. "Besides, Cosplayer's cool."

Lisanna smiled warmly when his tongue lolled from his mouth in a silly grin. "Thank you, Bickslow."

"No problem, baby," he smirked. When she blushed and started laughing, he gave her a wide grin. It was far too much fun to tease Lisanna, but he had things to do. "Well, I'm not needed now."

"Oh, you don't have to go."

"Nah, I'm heading home anyway. Hope your brother's okay."

Lisanna sighed as the Seith mage made his way out of the infirmary without another word. She took a seat on the edge of the bed while waiting for Jet to bring Porlyusica back, wincing when she saw Lucy's cheek had turned red and started to swell. "I hope Elfman's okay, too," she whispered. "And you, Lucy… You really do have the worst luck sometimes."

* * *

Mira's feet flew over the grass in the training field faster than ever before while not in one of her Satan Souls. She could see her brother's retreating form as he darted into the treeline, and forced her legs to pump harder.

"Elfman!"

Cracking wood and leaves rustling wildly against one another accompanied a series of long, venomous hisses. No matter how stealthy any beast might be that he'd collected, Elfman was a big guy. And with how fast he was moving, there was no way for him to really stay hidden.

"Elfman, just stop!" she shouted. The woods went eerily silent with only the sound of a gentle breeze humming in the air. Still, she could tell he was nearby.

"Come out and talk to me, okay?"

Mira scanned the forest around her, searching for any slight movement that would give away where her brother was at. Then again, the coloring of his scales and eyes were the perfect camouflage. The only thing that would stick out would be his white hair. No matter what form he took, Elfman's hair was always there.

"Elfman, I need to know what happened," Mira said while taking slow steps forward. Every snapping twig beneath her feet had her pausing, just to make sure that it was from her and not something else. "You haven't lost control like this in a long time."

She was silent for several minutes, just trying to listen to her surroundings. And when she heard the soft babbling of a brook a few meters off to her right, then a quiet sniffle, the white-haired barmaid sighed and started walking toward it.

And there, on the other side of the bushes, was her younger brother. Kneeling in the brook with his hands beneath the water and only coming up to his wrists. The shirt he'd been wearing was ripped along the spine and floating in the water around his hands, obscuring whether or not they were shifting back to normal like his back was.

"Elfman?"

"Go… away… M-Mira," he hissed. " _Ssstop_  coming…  _clossser_."

She took a small step away, then fanned out her dress and sat down on the bank. "Can you talk to me, Elfman?"

"N-No."

"Can I talk to you, then?"

"..."

Mira let out a patient breath while looking around, then turned a gentle smile toward her brother's hunched form in the water. "I guess this is a new beast," she whispered. "I've never seen it."

" _Ssserpent_ …"

"You didn't tell us though," Mira mused. "You always tell us when you get a new one."

Elfman's eyes opened and his head turned toward her only slightly, just enough for Mira to see that his eyes were flickering back to blue and scales were still replacing the skin on most of his face.

"It's calming down," Mira whispered. "That's good." Elfman's head dropped until his face was beneath the water. "You're doing just fine, Elfman."

They sat in silence for a long while after that, with Mira simply watching him go through the motions of trying to calm the beast soul he'd taken over. She never could understand why it was so difficult for him to control some of the beasts, because they usually seemed fine with what he was doing during the takeover process in the first place. They accepted that he defeated them more often than not, and were added to his collection.

Maybe it was something more primal that came out because of the nature of his Takeovers, but she wasn't sure.

Eventually, her brother was back to normal, just a little while after the sun had set beyond the horizon. His head stayed lowered as he sat back on his heels, his forearms resting in the water.

"Are you ready to talk?"

"I'm sorry, Mira…"

"Elfman, I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

He shook his head in resignation, slowly sitting up and turning to look at her. "I got this one last night," he winced. "I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk."

He hadn't wanted to bother her or Lisanna with his problems again, so it had been an easy choice. His beasts were restless, and all Elfman had thought he would do was go out and do a little training. He hadn't been expecting an enormous snake to pop out and try to attack him. Thankfully, he'd been working with his Lizardman soul, so the bite that would have ripped his arm off had been nothing more than a glancing blow.

After he'd taken the Serpent's soul, Elfman had gone home and forced himself to sleep once he'd showered. And ever since waking up that morning, he'd felt off. His mood had soured the longer he had to be around people. Every time he turned around, the hissing in his head grew louder and more feral.

"I was going to show you and Lis," he winced. "I just wanted to make sure it was tamed."

"Is that why you've been so… mean today?"

He nodded and looked at his reflection in the water. "It got worse when Evergreen came in…"

Mira frowned, but stayed silent on the matter. He was already fully aware of her feelings concerning the Fairy mage, and she knew that repeating herself right then was probably a horrible idea.

"I still don't really trust this one," he sighed. His hands rubbed over his face and up through his hair. "It's different than the others. I can't explain it though."

"It's a snake," Mira said softly. "They aren't usually the nicest animals in general."

"I think it's just because I've never had one with poison," he sighed.

Mira's eyes widened in horror. "Did you say… poison?"

"Yeah," Elfman nodded while looking at his hands. "I grow poison quills on my arms. Pretty potent stuff. Just taking the thing over made me feel kinda sick."

"E-Elfman."

He frowned while turning to look at Mira, his eyes rounding when he saw just how pale she'd grown. "Mira, what-"

"You hit Lucy," she whispered. "When you ran out, you…"

"No…"

"She hit the wall," Mira said while standing up and brushing her dress off. "Lisanna was taking care of her when I left, but…" The barmaid trailed off when he vaulted from the ground and wrapped an arm around her waist while shifting into his Weretiger soul. They weren't too far from the guild as it was, but the increased speed from his beast soul had them rushing through the training grounds mere minutes after he'd started running.

His heart was racing as he dropped Mira off just next to the bar and raced up the stairs, ignoring the stares from the people that were still in the guild.  _'Lucy… I'm so sorry! Please be okay!'_

He'd never wanted to hurt anyone he cared about with his magic again, but he'd lost control. And just like the last time, when he'd hurt Lisanna, he was getting flashes of what Mira told him. Lucy flying through the air. How she'd looked up at him in fear. Hitting her.

Poisoning her.

He burst into the infirmary, then froze at the sight of the blonde lying in the bed with her eyelids fluttering open, then slamming shut against the bright light from a lamp off to her side. Porlyusica was closing her bag and leaving a vial on the table at Lucy's side.

Lisanna's head snapped up when the door opened, and she watched in silence as Elfman in his Weretiger soul stood in the doorway, simply staring at Lucy. Watching her and panting.

"Mm," Lucy groaned, pressing the heel of one hand to her forehead. "Wh-Where am I?"

Porlyusica turned with a sharp reply sitting on the tip of her tongue, then stopped when Elfman ran into the infirmary and pulled Lucy into his arms.

"Ow," she whined. "Why…"

"Lucy," he whimpered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry…"

"Elf… man?" She sighed into his chest when his arms curled around her just a little more. After spending two weeks with him, and having used the mage as a flotation device, as well as a mattress, Lucy was definitely familiar with what his arms and chest felt like. And then she felt his fur.

A delirious smile turned up the blonde's lips and she mindlessly nuzzled the fur on his chest. "Kitty... Elfman?"

Lisanna bit her lips to stifle her laughter just as Porlyusica rolled her eyes in the background. "Young man."

Elfman's head turned slightly toward the healer's voice, but he didn't move otherwise.

"Do us all a favor and submit a sample of any poisons those beasts of yours have," she scowled. "She was lucky I recognized it when I got here."

"I taste pineapples," Lucy muttered sleepily.

"She may be a little… off for a bit. It should wear off in twenty-four hours." Porlyusica looked toward Lisanna then. "If he can't make an antivenom himself, then make sure she takes the rest of that in the morning."

Lisanna nodded, watching as the pink-haired healer left the infirmary, already grumbling about idiot humans and the 'stench of youth' making her sick.

"Meow meow," Lucy yawned. Her eyes opened slightly to look up at Elfman's feline face. "Gimme a meow meow, Kitty."

"Oh my god," Lisanna giggled. "I think Natsu told me about Lucy doing the same thing when she was drunk."

Elfman shook his head with a strained smile and looked down at the blonde. "Lucy, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you…"

"S'okay," she sighed with a lazy grin. "I'll scratch your chin and make you purr."

The fact that she reached up to do it had Lisanna nearly in tears. And just when she was about to lose the battle to hide her laughter, it all died in an instant when she heard Elfman actually purring as Lucy's fingers wriggled in his fur. "Uh, Elfman?"

"I know, Lis," he sighed. Elfman was more than embarrassed by what Lucy was doing, but the stupid Weretiger soul… It loved that she was giving it special attention.

"Mm, you're warm… Kinda moist… But warm." Lucy let out a sleepy giggle. " _Moist_ …"

Elfman looked down and sighed when he realized that his pants were soaked from the knees down. They were mostly dried, but a good bit of water had been on his arms and splashed onto his chest while he'd started running. "Sorry about that, too."

"Say 'meow meow'..."

He rolled his eyes and started to pull away, then felt a growl starting to rumble in his chest when Lucy's hands gripped his fur.

"Say it…"

"Lucy," he sighed. "You need to rest." The fact that she started pouting, even with her eyes closed, shouldn't have made him want to take it back. But he already knew the blonde was stubborn when she was hurt. "If I say it, you  _have_ to lay down and rest, okay?"

The blonde nodded, her eyes peeking open to look up at him.

Elfman gave Lisanna a small, embarrassed smile while getting Lucy to lie down again. Once she was settled he ignored the flush on his furry cheeks and whispered, "Meow meow." Not a moment later, Lucy's fingers were under his chin again, lightly scratching the same spot from before and pulling a contented purr from the beast in him.

"Alright, Lucy," Lisanna giggled. "Time to sleep now."

Lucy nodded again, turning her head slightly to look at her friend. "Thanks, Lis."

"No problem."

"Elfman?" The blonde's eyes closed in a long blink, then opened again to look back at him. "Will you stay?"

"I can sit with you for a bit," he whispered.

"Sleep, too?"

The last thing Lisanna had thought would happen was her older brother standing and kicking off his shoes, then lifting Lucy into his arms and taking a seat on the bed. "Elfman, what are you doing?"

He shrugged while situating the blonde so she was lying on his chest, just as she'd been their last night out in Jinju. And as soon as Lucy was settled once again, he turned to look at his younger sister. "It's the least I can do, Lis. I hurt her."

Lucy was out in a matter of moments, and Lisanna found herself staring at the strangest, oddly adorable picture. Her older brother still in his Weretiger soul, and Lucy smiling in her sleep and nuzzling the fur on his overly large chest. "You know she isn't mad at you though. No one is."

"Still…"

She bit her lip while looking toward the infirmary door, then back to Elfman. "Well, I told Master what I saw. He said that he's glad no one was seriously hurt, and that you took yourself out of the situation even though your magic was acting up."

"I wasn't doing anything though," he frowned. "That was my Serpent soul… I'm… Lis, I'm sorry for talking to you that way."

She shook her head while standing from her seat, then leaned down and gave him a short kiss on one furry cheek. "It's alright, big brother. You were right though. I should have backed off and let you work through it yourself."

"I liked that you wanted to make me feel better," he admitted. "I just…"

"Maybe that Serpent was just feeding off of what you were already feeling?" she asked softly.

Elfman's hand came to rest on Lucy's back, just beneath her shoulders, when she shifted slightly. "Maybe… But I didn't mean to yell. That wasn't very manly, taking it out on you."

"Well, I forgive you," she smiled. "And I can't wait to see your new Beast when you're ready to show us." Her hand lifted and brushed through his hair and over one pointed ear, before she stepped back. "I'll tell Mira you're staying up here tonight. We'll bring you some fresh clothes in the morning."

Elfman nodded and wished his younger sister a good night, watching as she walked out of the infirmary. As soon as he was alone with Lucy, his other hand lifted from the bed and he held her just a little closer. "I'm sorry for hurting you, Lucy," he whispered while closing his eyes.

He'd known earlier that the blonde in his arms was just trying to be a good friend, but he'd been so absorbed in his own foul mood - and his Serpent soul really hadn't been helping matters - that he hadn't been able to appreciate it at the time. Everyone in the guild that had talked to him had only been trying to see if there was something they could do to make him feel better.

Even though he'd learned Takeover magic as a way of helping Mira come to terms with her own magic, Elfman hated it sometimes. Times like this, when he was struggling to control a new soul and get it to mesh with the others that were present, he wished that he had something simpler.

But then the blonde in his arms shifted and snuggled closer, and her soft sigh brushed through his fur. Lucy didn't have a problem with his magic. She really liked meeting the different beasts, from what he could tell, and he loved being able to show them to her. And even if he'd been the one to hurt her earlier, Lucy still trusted him enough to be able to sleep with him so close to her. Maybe it was because she was still pretty out of it.

That didn't matter to him though, because just being able to sit with his friend - or lie down, in this case - and comfort her was enough. If Lucy trusted him, then he could trust himself. Lisanna and Mira still trusted him, too. They understood a whole lot better than Lucy just what had happened, and he was more than thankful that his sisters had been there to diffuse the situation and keep the rest of the guild away from him.

Elfman really wasn't all that tired, even after lying in the bed for an hour, but it didn't bother him. Lucy was safe, and she didn't hate him. So instead of trying to force himself to sleep, he took the time to do some meditation and try to sort out what the Serpent's issue was. It wasn't going to be easy, but that day had been quite the wakeup call for Elfman.

Someone could have gotten seriously hurt, and he needed to pay better attention to the signs that something was slightly off. He could do that, though. It just meant that he needed to train more, to get better in tune with his different souls.

And based on the sudden streak of fear that washed through the Serpent soul, and how his other beasts were growling and clicking and hissing in anger with flashes of the guild's Celestial mage filtering in their collective memories, Elfman felt like it would be just a little easier to deal with the issue at hand.

' _Alright, Serpent… It's time to have a chat…'_

 


	8. Serpents and Ogres

 

" _Ssstay_  away from me,  _mongrelsss_!"

Elfman took a long, steadying breath as his eyes opened. All around him was the little pocket of space he went to during his meditation. Where each of his beasts were pulled to be in attendance when he really needed to have a chat with them all as a group.

A vast forest with humid air on the left and a moderate, comfortable climate on the right. A large lake was being fed by an even larger waterfall to hold his amphibious Beasts just down the path he stood on. Sun speckled rocks stayed just warm enough to keep the reptiles comfortable and calm where they sat beneath the towering trees with trunks three-men in width.

The beasts were free to roam as they pleased at any given time, unless Elfman started meditating and called them all to the very center of his soul. To this one place that changed just a little each time a new beast was added to his collection to accommodate their needs.

He carefully walked down the path toward the sounds of low growls and fearsome roars. Unsettling insect-like clicks of mandibles that always took him just a little longer to decode than he really liked. He wasn't really a fan of using the insect souls, but he'd taken a couple over to help round out the collection he had. Still, he figured they needed some attention soon, otherwise they might start getting restless.

Elfman brushed a large palm frond out of the way and came into the clearing that was the center of his soul. And that was where he found them all.

Sixteen beast souls.

Serpent was hanging its enormous body from a thick branch that hadn't been there the last time Elfman had meditated, coiled around it in loose curls.

And on the ground and in the water in a menacing circle, were the other fifteen beasts. Each of them glaring up at the Serpent who was just out of reach.

Weretiger vaulted from the ground and swiped a claw at Serpent, missing by a solid foot.

The only one who could easily reach Serpent was The Beast. The soul who had nearly killed Lisanna and caused Elfman years of torment. Except he already knew that the King of the Beasts wasn't going to interfere. He never did.

Weretiger used Lizardman's back as a platform to give it a little extra height in its jump. Serpent coiled itself tighter around the branch and let out a venomous hiss at the beasts beneath it.

"Go  _sssomewhere elssse_ ," Serpent spat.

"You hurt Lucy," Elfman said as he padded his way fully into the clearing from the tree line. Soft earth and fallen leaves brushed against the bottom of his feet, and all the beasts turned to look at him. "No one in Fairy Tail should have to fear my beasts, but you hurt my nakama. More than that, you hurt my friend."

" _Ssso_?"

"In case you haven't realized, that was a mistake on your part," Elfman said. He gently patted Weretiger on the shoulder, feeling the agitated ripple beneath its fur as it backed away from where Serpent hung from the branch.

"She  _wasss_  in the way."

"The only reason you had access to my body is because I lost control," Elfman frowned. "And that's something that can't happen."

A series of clicks sounded off to Elfman's left, and he looked down to see the beetle whose arms he used for his Jet Black Sword partial takeover, stamping its feet.  _"We all accept him as master,"_  it clicked warningly.  _"You'd do well to fall in line."_

Off to Elfman's right, the great Stone Bull huffed out a pebbly breath. Its deep red eyes narrowed in anger.  _"You poisoned the woman. She has been nothing but kind to us, and you tried to kill her."_

Elfman smiled as he looked at all the beasts gathered across the clearing. It was heartwarming to see how much they'd all grown to care for the people he held dear to him. Even the gentle-hearted monstrous otter he'd come across just a few months prior. She was actually the only one he didn't have a hard time believing had really come to accept the people he cared about.

"What should I care about  _sssome_  woman?" Serpent hissed. "He should have let me eat him to begin with!"

"You're new here," Elfman said firmly. "So I can understand some resistance. But there's a certain balance-"

"I hope she  _diesss_."

A sudden shockwave rocked the ground all the beasts stood on, sending several scattering to nearby trees and into the water as they scrambled away from Elfman.

" _Moron!"_  Bat screeched from his perch.  _"Don't piss him off! It's about to get way too loud in here!"_

Serpent lifted its head and glared down at Elfman. "There  _isss_  nothing that puny runt can do to me without the help of a  _beassst_."

Elfman's hands clenched into fists. Knuckles popped as his fingers dug painfully into his palms. "Serpent, you'd better take that back."

"Pathetic," the large, sea green snake hissed. "What do you think you can do?!"

"I beat you into submission before," Elfman growled. "I'll do it again!"

He dashed forward into the clearing and vaulted from a rock into the tree Serpent had taken residence in. He saw Serpent's jaws readying to strike, but Elfman wasn't going to stop. If this beast didn't understand the bonds that he had with his nakama in Fairy Tail, then he would force it to understand.

He drew back a fist and let it sail forward at Serpent's gaping maw. The long poisoned spines running along its back and bristling from the ridges of its brow didn't deter him. Just as Serpent's jaws were about to snap shut, a loud roar broke through the trees and mowed down the surrounding foliage.

"Enough!"

Elfman blinked in surprise as an enormous crimson fist cracked into the side of Serpent's head. The snake's body unwound from the branch and toppled to the ground, and Elfman's gaze shifted to the side until he was looking at the olive green skin and elongated canines of The Beast.

"You will listen and adhere to his rules, Serpent," The Beast snarled. "As a Takeover mage, our host has rightfully claimed our souls. Do not make me tell you again."

" _Bassstard_ … You're not the King anymore!"

"No," Elfman said while dropping to the ground. "I am."

" _Sssaysss_ -"

"This is my body, my soul. You're only still alive in any capacity because of me. I took your soul and now I'm the one in charge. Do you understand, Serpent?"

"Shut up. You don't control me!"

"Then you'll be stuck here and I'll lock you in a cage until I can trust you," Elfman said. "The other beasts… they can come and go as they please, because I trust them and they trust me. You're not going anywhere, not even if I'm in a fight and need your power, until I know we're on the same page."

"I'll  _bussst_  out of here," Serpent spat. "And I'll kill that  _ssstupid_  girl-"

"You'll never touch Lucy again!" Elfman roared. In a blinding rage, his fist came crashing down on the snake's head. Poison quills tore through his skin and muscles, but he didn't feel a thing as his other fist cracked across Serpent's belly. "I'm the master here!"

The other beasts cringed and slowly backed away as Elfman's fists continued raining down on the newest soul. It had been years since any had seen him lose his cool like this.

The Beast took a step back and grinned while settling himself on a rock. He'd been the only other soul to get this kind of beatdown from the Strauss boy. Back when he'd finally learned how to control the King of the Beasts. He was thoroughly enjoying someone else getting smacked around for a change.

" _Ssstop_!" Serpent screeched as Elfman gripped his tail and swung him in a wide circle. All the beasts watched as their master rushed off into the distance to chase after Serpent's flying body.

* * *

His eyes opened when the body on top of him shifted one way and another, only to find Lucy sitting cross-legged on his stomach and fighting with Lisanna. Well, she was struggling to take her shirt off and Lisanna was trying her level-best to keep Lucy clothed. And to get her to take the rest of the medication that Porlyusica had left.

"Lucy, please," Lisanna whispered. "Just take the medicine."

"Don't wanna," Lucy giggled. "Lis… Do you like my boobs?"

"They're fine."

"Just fine?" Lucy pouted. "But I like them!"

"Lucy…"

Elfman chuckled and sat up quickly, throwing the Celestial mage off-balance and sprawling on the bed. "Lucy, you need to leave your clothes on," he said.

"Elfman!" she squealed. Lucy scrambled toward him, then collapsed against his broad chest with a wobbling smile that was no less bright than usual. "I was just telling Lis…" She paused and her eyes narrowed, her lips pursing in deep thought. "You look happy again…"

His arms wound around her, holding the squirming mage in place. "I'm very happy, Lucy," he whispered. "You're gonna get better."

"Do  _you_  like my boobies?"

"Lucy," Lisanna giggled. "I don't think you should be asking if anyone likes your breasts."

"But they're great!" Lucy grinned up at Elfman as though he'd been the one to speak. "One of my top… five features! No! Top three!"

"Time for your medicine," he said. "No taking off your clothes, Lucy."

"But I have to pee."

"Do you always get naked to pee?" he chuckled.

"... No."

"Then Lis can take you to the bathroom, and you can pull down your pants to go pee."

Lucy gasped and drew back to stare at him in horror. "Wh-What about my panties?" she whispered. "They'd get wet!"

"You can pull those down too," he laughed. "And I'll be waiting right here for you to come back." Lucy's head bobbed quickly and she wriggled out of his grasp, then latched onto Lisanna's arm as she was led to the bathroom.

Listening in on the insanity happening behind the closed door gave him plenty of reasons to laugh, but Elfman wasn't in that much of a joking mood. For Lucy's sake, he was smiling. But he knew, deep down, this was his fault for not being able to control the Serpent soul. He'd endangered everyone, nearly killed Lucy, and-

"Elfman!" Lisanna shouted. "Get in here!"

His lips turned down at the desperate shriek from his younger sister, and he jumped out of the bed and rushed across the infirmary to find Lucy in only her bra and panties, dodging Lisanna as she tried to get the blonde to put her clothes back on.

And even though Elfman's cheeks flamed brilliantly for a moment, he still moved into the bathroom and took his sister's place to help Lucy contain herself. And somehow, even though she stumbled and bumped into walls again and again, he just couldn't get ahold of the little blonde.

"Lucy!" he laughed, the sound booming through the small space. "Come on, now!"

"You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread man!" Lucy squealed when Elfman finally grabbed hold of her, his hands winding around her waist. "Giant Elfman's gonna eat my ginger-goodness!"

"Um…"

"Not the gumdrop buttons!"

Lisanna snickered between heaving pants where she leaned against the wall behind Elfman. "Be gentle with Gingy," she laughed.

Elfman shook his head and grabbed Lucy's shirt, then carefully pulled it over her head. "Tell me what I want to know," he smirked. "Who's hiding them!"

Her eyes lit up with understanding in an instant. "Okay… I'll tell you. Do you know… the Muffin Man?"

"The Muffin Man?"

"The Muffin Man," she nodded.

Elfman pulled her arms through the sleeves then gently tugged the shirt down so she was covered again. Now for pants. "Yes," he mused, "I know the Muffin Man… Who lives on Drury Lane?"

Lucy giggled when he sat her down on the closed toilet to get her pants back on. "Well, she's married to the Muffin Man."

"The Muffin Man?" he gasped in feigned shock.

"THE MUFFIN MAN!"

"She's married to the Muffin Man…" He smiled while buttoning her pants, then lifted the giggling blonde over his shoulder. "And now it's time for medicine."

"I didn't know you liked Shrek," Lucy said, completely unfazed by how he was carrying her like a sack of potatoes.

"Elfman loves those movies," Lisanna said, following the two back to the infirmary bed. While they got situated, with Lucy sitting beside Elfman and kicking her legs back and forth, she prepared the vial Porlyusica had left and gave it to the blonde. While Lucy drank the concoction, she turned to her brother. "She'll be like this for a while, Elfman."

"Well, it'll probably be hard keeping her in the infirmary."

"Unless she falls asleep again." Lisanna glanced at Lucy, a soft smile pulling at her lips when the blonde gave her a sloppy grin. "How are you feeling?"

"... Silly," she giggled.

"Well," Elfman sighed, bringing a large hand up to her shoulders without thinking and gently rubbing them, "I didn't spend time with you yesterday. How about we hang out today?"

"I feel sleepy again," she pouted. Her large brown eyes turned toward the Takeover mage beside her. "Will you be a kitty again?"

"Not right now," he chuckled.

"Later then? Weretiger's so comfy and cozy…"

Lisanna bit her lips when she saw the small flush to her brother's cheeks. "Elfman, why don't you take her to the house? She can sleep in my bed if she wants a nap."

"Or I can sleep with Elfman!" Lucy grinned.

He choked and stared down at the blonde who was utterly oblivious to what she'd said. Then again, technically she'd  _slept_ with him a few times now. It was clear that was what she meant.  _'Fairy Tail has made me into a pervert…'_

"And I can have kitty snuggles, and he'll sing me kitty songs, and-"

"Come on," he chuckled while standing. Elfman kept a hand on her back and slipped his shoes back on. "We can go to the house and hang out, Lucy."

"- and eat kitty treats, and-"

"Have fun, big brother," Lisanna giggled.

"Tell her team when they ask," he smiled. "Lucy should be back to normal by tomorrow."

Once they left the infirmary, Elfman was so focused on keeping Lucy by his side, smiling while she chattered and giggled to herself, that he missed the saddened brown eyes, hidden behind shining glasses and a fan, in one corner of the guild. Evergreen followed his every movement in her peripherals, and only took her attention from Elfman and Lucy when she felt Laxus walking past to take a seat next to her.

"Ever…"

"Laxus, could I maybe hang out with you today?" she whispered while looking back down at the salad she'd been getting ready to eat. "Maybe with some ice cream?"

He let out a quiet chuckle and waited for her to look at him again, gently bumping his knee against hers beneath the table as their eyes locked. "Does it help that I know they're not what you're thinking?"

"What do you mean?"

"Blondie's just a friend," he whispered. "Elfman poisoned her on accident yesterday with some new Beast soul. He's keeping an eye on her for the day."

Evergreen sighed and looked back down at the table. "I wish that  _did_  help."

"Then I've got nothin'," he smirked. "You want advice, I'm not the guy, Ever."

"No, but you're a great listener," she whispered back. Their last mission had been just what she'd needed, getting away from the guild and just spending time with the three most important men in her life. Bickslow had made her laugh, Freed had given her advice, and Laxus… he'd just listened. The blond had stayed silent almost the entire time she talked, but he was attentive and that was more than enough for her. Plus, that first night away from the guild,  _he_  had been the one to initiate a group hug around her. Laxus, of all people.

"Eh," Laxus shrugged. "I'm alright." When Evergreen laughed, he couldn't help but smile just enough for her to see it. "Ice cream sounds good though."

"... You're gonna make me do paperwork… aren't you…"

A devious grin curled his lips. "You know me so well, Ever."


	9. Elf and Kringle

 

Elfman took a seat on the floor in front of the coffee table in his living room, then set a plastic cup of water down for Lucy. She smiled up at him with that goofy grin of hers from the antivenom that Porlyusica had left for her. "Are you ready for this?" he asked.

"More than ready," she said. "I'm gonna kick your little bum-bum."

He laughed and shook his head, then picked up the small tweezers attached to the Operation game board set on the table between them. Considering the size of his hands alone, this game was going to be difficult. Thankfully, he had convinced Lucy that they could just take turns to see who got more pieces out without setting off the buzzer. He wasn't sure if she could handle the actual rules on her current state, or dealing with the game money.

Lucy peered down at the image of Cavity Sam on the board. "Which one are you going for?"

"Broken heart."

She really should have seen that one coming, but she still smiled and watched Elfman's enormous hand trying to manipulate the tweezers. He was so careful, just like a real surgeon, that she was sure he could do it. And then the tweezers hit the metal on the edge of the hole for the little plastic heart piece, and Cavity Sam's red nose lit up.

"Man," Elfman chuckled, "Your turn."

Lucy took the tweezers and frowned down at the board. "I think I want the broken heart," she said. "Stupid dates…"

"Go for it." He watched as she concentrated, sticking her tongue out and pushing her brows together. Her hand shot forward to pluck the heart piece out, and the buzzer went off while Cavity Sam's nose lit up once again. Elfman took the tweezers back and aimed for the pail of water in Sam's knee.

"We're bad at this," Lucy said. She laughed when Elfman hit the edge.

"I've never been good at this game," he said. Even before he'd bulked up for the Grand Magic Games, Elfman had always been just a little too clumsy in the hand department. When he was much younger, he probably could have played this pretty well, but Mira hadn't gotten the game until after Lisanna had returned from Edolas. By that point, he was past his "delicate touch" phase.

When she failed to pull out the wrench from Sam's ankle, Lucy found herself staring intently at just how small the tweezers were in Elfman's hand. His fingers were enormous, like crazy huge sausages attached to a baseball glove. A giggle slipped past her lips before she could stop herself. And another followed immediately after when the buzzer went off and he dropped the little horse back into Sam's hip.

"What's so funny?" he asked, grinning over at her just a little bashfully.

"Your hands are so big!"

He blinked in surprise, then looked down to where the tweezers rested in his palm. He'd never really considered just how big his hands were. It was just something that he didn't think about all that often. He was taller than a lot of people, but his hands felt normal to him. Granted, his arm could grow to be twice its size with some of his beast souls, so maybe his view of things was just a little bit skewed.

"I guess they are," he said.

Lucy took the tweezers from him and set them on the table, then reached out for his hand. It came with no resistance, and she placed her hand on his palm. The entirety of it fit in just his palm with more than enough space surrounding it, even with her fingers stretched to their limit. She couldn't stop herself from giggling again as his fingers curled and covered everything down to her wrist.

"My hand is like a little doll hand."

"I think it's pretty manly," he said.

"But I don't want man hands. Then I'd be manhandling everything! My love handles would turn into man handles." Lucy gasped and stared up at him, her eyes suddenly glistening with tears. "They'd be...  _mandles_ ," she whispered in horror.

If he hadn't grown up with two women as his constant companions, Elfman was sure he wouldn't have had a clue on how to handle Lucy and her suddenly teary eyes. Except Mira and Lisanna both tended to get a little on the dramatic side, tears and all, on occasion. He was definitely well-equipped for this. "Lucy," he said gently, "They won't be mandles." He wasn't going to mention that he liked how she'd combined the two words.

"But-"

"No," he chuckled. "They won't. And even if they did, I bet you'd have the best set of mandles ever." As long as she didn't question him about having love handles in the first place - which, he really hoped she didn't - then he was in the clear.

"So I  _do_  have love handles?"

So close… Elfman sighed and stood, pulling the blonde to her feet along with him. He walked around the table and knelt in front of her so he could look a little more directly into her eyes. "You don't have love handles," he said.

"But you said…"

"I said  _if_ , Lucy." He paused and put his hands on her shoulders, easily dwarfing them. If she was one of his sister's, he probably would have pinched her hips just to prove his point. But she wasn't Mira or Lisanna. She was Lucy, and even though they were friends, he was sure that was just a step too far. "I promise, you don't have love handles. You're beautiful. And even if you  _did_  have them, you'd still be beautiful."

Tears trickled down her cheeks, but she still smiled at him. "You think I'm pretty?"

"Of course I do." He laughed when she hiccupped and sniffled loudly, then heard a quiet gasp coming from behind him that preceded a heavy bag hitting the floor. Lucy lunged forward to hug him tightly, causing the person who had just intruded on their day together to let out a quiet squeak.

"Elfman, you made me so happy!"

"Aw, it's alright," he chuckled, carefully patting her back. The soft sputtering that he heard clued him in on just who had arrived though, because there was only one person who would be walking into his house and also jumping to the most ludicrous of conclusions. "Hello, Mira."

"W-What… You and… a-and… what?!"

"I didn't propose," he snorted. "Breathe, Mira."

"Elfman's so sweet!" Lucy cried. "So sweet and kind. You'd still love me even if I went to the Chunky Dunk factory and came back with icky sticky mandles!"

Mira bit her lips when Lucy's arms wrapped tightly around Elfman's head, pulling his face to her chest. Whether he could breathe or not didn't really matter when she saw how he tried to push Lucy away without hurting her. And that the tips of his ears were turning a bright shade of red.

"I could get super fat with rolls inside of my rolls, and you'd still tell me I'm pretty!" Lucy sobbed. "But don't worry, Elfman, I won't get mandles. Never ever!"

"Oh dear," Mira muttered while bending down to pick up the bag of groceries she'd dropped. She closed the front door and made her way to the kitchen, ready to get started on dinner while her little brother tried to pry the inebriated Celestial mage off of him.

* * *

A month came and went and Lucy grew closer to Elfman. The first time she had asked him to join her team on a mission had been relatively simple. He and Lisanna had come along and helped Team Natsu defeat a horde of wyverns up in the mountains on the eastern side of Fiore. The damage had been immense, but he'd fit right in.

As the holidays drew nearer, she found herself needing to take another mission - preferably one with no chance for damages to reduce her pay. And while Lucy loved spending time with Natsu and Erza and Gray, she also very much enjoyed having a roof over her head. That had meant sneaking over to Elfman's table at the guild and asking him to take a job with her. Of course, the secrecy had backfired when he bellowed about jobs with Lucy being manly, and very loudly accepted. When Lucy had tried to shut him up with a hand over his mouth, she'd ended up with her arms wrapped around his head and her butt on his shoulder. And then she was squawking and shrieking over people possibly seeing up her skirt, which only made her hold on tighter as he stood up to walk over to the request board.

"I'll find something for us," he said, carefully setting her down. "You'll probably wanna tell your team."

"Pretty sure they already know," she laughed. Lucy patted his arm while walking around him and over to her own table, then plopped down into the seat. "So, I'm-"

"Taking a job with Elfman," Erza said with a nod and a slow bite into her cake.

"Sounds like you don't want the team tagging along," Gray said with a teasing glare. "You getting tired of us, Lucy?"

"What?! No! I just, well, I just needed to get some money and pay my rent without… y'know… without everything getting damaged, and…" When she saw that Erza was smiling at her as well, Lucy's cheeks flamed in embarrassment. Damn them for teasing her. "You suck."

"Aw, that's not very nice, Lushy!" Happy shouted while flying down to hover over her.

"You're one to talk," she giggled. "You tease me all the time!"

"Speaking of which, I thought of a great song last night!" Happy grinned and flew down to the table, then cleared his throat and began to sing to the tune of Jingle Bells:

_Jingle Bells  
Lucy smells  
I came from an egg_   
_Lucy's fat_

"Hey, shut up cat!" she yelled.

_She's kidnapped every day!_

"Hey!" Lucy shrieked as a strong, enormous arm wrapped around her waist and hefted her into the air with no effort whatsoever.

"Time for our job!" Elfman yelled, settling the struggling blonde on his shoulder.

"See?!" Happy cackled. "Even her guildmates are kidnapping her!" Lucy waved to them with a smile on her face that quickly fell into a scowl when he spoke again. "Don't strain yourself, Elfman!"

"You mangy furball, I'm gonna get you!" Lucy screeched just as Elfman carried her out of the guild.

* * *

Lucy and Elfman walked side by side down Main Street toward a sprawling mansion on top of a nearby hill. After leaving the guild, she'd found out from Elfman that they would be taking a job that wasn't supposed to have any fighting whatsoever, but the pay wasn't half bad. All Lucy knew about it was that she and her current partner would be dressing up for the next few days and visiting children.

When they reached the front door - which she assumed was supposed to be intimidating, what with its garish size, but really wasn't all that spectacular when Elfman stood in front of it - Lucy had to fight back a laugh. Honestly, the poor guy nearly always had to duck just to get into a room. It was nice to see that he would be able to walk into a place like a normal person for a change.

A young man of no more than twenty-three answered the door with a wide, bright smile and twinkling green eyes. "Ah, you must be the Fairy Tail mages," he said in a sweet baritone that had her insides fluttering with nervousness.

"Yep," Elfman answered, unaware of the light flush on Lucy's cheeks. "I'm Elfman Strauss, and this is Lucy-"

"Just Lucy," she cut in. She couldn't fault him for not knowing that she didn't really give out her last name if she didn't have to. It kept a lot of questions and pitying stares away from her if people didn't know she was a Heartfilia. Besides, she liked the sense of anonymity it gave her on occasion, especially now that she hadn't been seen in high society for over seven years.

"Well, Elfman and Just-Lucy, my name is Richard Vandermallion. Please, do come in." Richard ushered them inside with a wide sweep of his arm, and quietly closed the door once everyone was in the foyer. "Follow me to the drawing room, and I can tell you about the job."

They followed him through an open doorway to the left and into an airy room with wide bay windows and ornately carved couches. Once they were all seated with both Lucy and Elfman having declined any sort of refreshment, Richard leaned back in his seat and crossed one leg over the other. It was then that Lucy noticed his choice of dress. Skin-tight breeches, knee-high black riding boots, and a brocade doublet in a rich navy blue that matched his slicked back hair.

"The job is relatively simple," Richard began. "You'll take one of my enchanted sleighs to four orphanages over the next two days, dressed as Santa and his elf."

"I'm guessing I'll be the elf," Lucy said, smiling up at Elfman. "And you'll be the super muscular Santa."

"Yes, it seems Santa has been getting a lot of protein this year," Richard chuckled, his eyes raking over Elfman's bulging muscles. "I've had the matrons of each orphanage draft lists of the children in residence. You'll need to make a bit of this up as you go, you see."

"Makes sense," Elfman nodded. "I think me and Lucy can handle that."

"Definitely," she said, looking back to Richard. "What will we be doing, exactly, though?"

"Well, you'll be doing the usual holiday tradition of children visiting Santa, I suppose," he sighed. Richard set his chin in one hand and smiled while gazing out of the nearby window to find the ground covered in a fine mist of snow. "Sitting on his lap, asking what they'd like to get this year." He peered at Lucy out of the corner of his eyes then. "But make sure you don't forget a single child."

"So we're just visiting orphanages," Lucy said, smiling to try and reassure him. "Bringing them a little holiday cheer?"

"And finding out what they'd like for Christmas," Richard corrected. "That's the most crucial part."

"And why would that be?"

His small smile grew into a grin that gave his already young face a rounder, more innocent appearance. "It's something I've done every year, but this is the first time I'll be doing it since coming to Fiore," Richard said. "Children without parents are usually forgotten around this time of year, and I'd like to make sure they can have a bright Christmas as well. Some of them may not believe in Santa usually, but seeing him appear…"

Lucy had to bite her lips to hold back the odd sound bubbling up in the back of her throat when he shook his head and a lock of blue hair fell down over his forehead. "It can make them believe again," she finished.

"Precisely," he breathed. Richard turned his attention to Elfman. "You'll be bringing back their Christmas spirit, making them believe that it's possible  _someone_  hasn't forgotten them. And once I have the lists back with everything the children wish for, I'll handle the rest."

"You mean, you're planning on buying presents for four orphanages worth of children?" Elfman asked. His brows rose in surprise when Richard nodded and laughed with nearly childlike glee.

"My father, rest his soul, left me quite the inheritance. There's not much I can do with the money to begin with, since I have everything that I need as it is. His company is still successful, even though my older brother is the one who runs it," Richard gushed. "But this is something I've always been passionate about. I love Christmas, and I want to make it so these kids can have just one morning where they wake up and everything is bright and happy and perfect.

"I want to give back by doing this for the children. They can get the one thing they truly wish for, and they can believe that it was Santa who remembered them."

"And is there any particular reason you requested mages for this job?" Lucy asked. "It seems like a job that anyone could do, really." She wasn't trying to be rude, but having taken enough jobs with the team where things didn't always go as planned - occasionally because the requestor had decided to leave out a few key details - had made her much more diligent about finding out everything she could for a job.

"Should we be expecting trouble?" Elfman added.

His own question put Lucy a little more at ease. Sometimes, she felt like she was overstepping some boundaries that she shouldn't be when talking with requestors. No one on the team ever corrected her, but she also knew that Natsu especially wasn't the best with etiquette. Elfman, on the other hand, had been taking jobs as a solo mage for years before Lucy had joined the guild. She knew he was strong, considering he'd been put up for the S Class trials before. And she knew that alone meant that he was someone she could really learn a thing or two from.

"There shouldn't be any trouble," Richard said with a dismissive wave. "But I find that mages are more dedicated to freelance work. And it's never a bad thing for them to be able to use their magic to win the children over, if they use a type of magic that works well for it."

She was definitely impressed. It seemed Richard had thought of everything. He really seemed to understand kids, and she couldn't help but find his enthusiasm for this project of his to be just a little on the charming side.

They continued ironing out the details for the rest of the job over the next half hour. Richard showed them a map they would take with them, already marked with the orphanages they were to visit. Apparently, he had two other groups already out at other orphanages across Fiore. They read through the long lists of children while he led them outside and around the back of his home, to a large red sleigh with bells adorning the corners.

"There's an enchantment on the sleigh so it will fly," Richard said as he trailed a hand along the back of the black leather seats. "It's simpler than using reindeer. I believe the others have been telling the children that the reindeer are resting up for Christmas."

After inspecting the sleigh, and making sure that it would hold Elfman's weight by giving it a quick test run across the yard, they went inside to warm up with hot cocoa that had already been prepared. Lucy wasn't sure who had made it at first, but when she tasted the extra spoonful of cocoa in hers with a dash of strawberry, she knew that it must have been Virgo. Only the maid spirit knew just how she liked her cocoa, and it seemed as though Richard lived by himself.

Once they were thoroughly warmed, he showed them to a room on the second floor that held their costumes. Elfman's costume was definitely too small, but before anyone could mention it, Virgo appeared with an identical red suit that was made to fit him. Lucy blushed while explaining to Richard what her spirit had done. He left them to change in separate rooms, and Lucy seriously wanted to strangle something when she'd gotten her elf costume on.

It wasn't that she didn't like the green dress and red and white stockings, or the matching green hat and little pointed ears. It was that the dress was itchy. Way too itchy.

"Maybe I can get Virgo to make me something more comfortable," she sighed. A moment later, the thought of just what Virgo would give her had Lucy shaking her head. Most likely, it would be something inappropriate, or strange. Granted, Virgo had made a Santa suit for Elfman that wasn't ridiculous, but she was positive the pink-haired spirit liked messing with her when it came to clothes.

Unless she was able to convince Virgo to make it something that would be fine for riding in the chilly weather, and for working around kids…

With another sigh, Lucy decided to just deal with the costume for the time being. If it was absolutely unbearable, she'd ask Virgo. Besides, it would have been rude to not wear the costume that Richard had provided while they were in his presence. She left the room with her clothes tucked into her bag and met Elfman in the hallway.

"You look very festive," he chuckled.

Lucy pulled at the high collar that scratched uncomfortably against her throat. "I feel like I've curled up in a pile of pine needles."

His booming laugh echoed down the hall. When she looked up at him, she was well and truly surprised by his transformation. His white hair definitely helped to pull the look together, what with the giant red suit stretched across his hulking frame. What caught her by surprise though was the beard. It really didn't suit him at all, and it was obviously fake.

"How do I look?" he asked, and she could swear his eyes were twinkling.

"A little silly," she said. Lucy singled out a gold key and smiled while summoning Cancer.

"How can I help you, ebi?"

Lucy waved toward Elfman's face. "We're on a job, dressed up as Santa and his elf, but Elfman's beard doesn't look authentic enough."

Cancer turned toward him, his brow lifting when he saw the crude mop of hair strapped to Elfman's face. "I'll handle it in a jiffy, ebi," he said. Before Elfman had time to move away, Cancer's scissors snipped the beard off and clicked at lightning speed around his jaw. Moments later, a full, thick, white beard had grown from nothing.

Cancer stepped back and bowed to Lucy and Elfman before disappearing. His hand lifted to stroke the long hairs trailing down from his chin, and Lucy's brows furrowed. Her head tilted from one side to the other while she examined him.

"Is this better?" he asked with a smirk.

"Not really," she said, and then she smiled up at him with her same bright grin. "But I think it's more of a fact that I can't picture you with a beard. It's weird."

"It feels weird," he chuckled.

"You look better with a clean shave," she nodded. Considering she'd never seen Elfman with any facial hair at all, she was sure that he preferred it that way as well. Still, this was for the job, and they could both just get over being a little uncomfortable. Then again, she was going to be able to take off this itchy dress, while Elfman was stuck with that beard until their work was finished.

"Well, let's get going," he said. "There are kids waiting to meet Santa."

"After you, Santa," she giggled, bowing low to allow him to walk ahead of her. Her laughter only increased when his arm wrapped around her waist and he carried her down the hall under his arm, the same way he'd carried everyone on their team during the first part of the Grand Magic Games earlier that year.

Luckily, he put her down before they met up with Richard by the front door. She was definitely excited to work with Elfman again. The last time they'd worked together with just the two of them had been the job at 8 Island after Evergreen had ripped his heart out. She knew that he was still pining over the Fairy mage. Lisanna had told her as much the week before that he'd crawled into her bed after having a bad dream.

But seeing him laughing like this, having a grand ol' time with her, was something Lucy was sure he needed. Maybe that was why he'd agreed to take a job with her. The jobs he'd joined her team on had been a blast - one in particular had been a literal blast with debris falling everywhere and a mountain nearly collapsing on top of them, but that wasn't the point - and she could honestly say that she enjoyed the time they spent together.

This was going to be the best job they'd ever taken to date, she could tell. Lucky for her, there was a spare blanket in the sleigh that she used to wrap herself up when they took off. Elfman's arm around her shoulders, and how he pulled her into his side to soak up his extra warmth, was just an added bonus.


	10. Itchy Elf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that? I only made you guys wait… 10 months for an update this time around! (I'm so sorry!)
> 
> Quick shout-out to the people who have reviewed so far. I read through all of them recently, and they sparked some motivation for this story. I love it when you guys give me your thoughts on what's happened and what might be up around the corner!
> 
> No more fucking around with an author's note that I know you're not even reading, because of how ready you are for this chapter to start. I hope you enjoy!

 

Lucy pulled the blanket up higher around her face to fight against the blustery winter wind reddening her nose and chapping her lips. They'd been flying across Fiore for a few hours already, and had already stopped at the second of their two stops for the day. Now it was a matter of leaving that particular town for another, then finding some sort of lodging for the night without seeming like a couple of lunatics dressed up in these costumes.

The job itself really was simple, too, which she was just so thankful for. The matron of the first orphanage had struggled to get the kids in order when they'd seen Santa. It had been anarchy. Except Lucy hadn't been able to control her own smile when she saw how excited the children were just to find out that Santa was real. That he hadn't forgotten about them. That he'd taken a break from making toys and preparing for the holiday, all to make a special trip, just for them.

Elfman had been the perfect Santa. He'd smiled so wide, and he'd laughed just like he was supposed to. His  _ho-ho-ho_ 's were spot on, even if his bulging muscles kind of messed with the image. But even the never-ending questions about  _Santa, where's your tummy?_  and  _Did you go on that kettle diet like Miss Constance?_  didn't seem to faze him in the slightest.

But right then, as she watched the sun setting far off to the left and soaked in Elfman's ever-present warmth, Lucy found herself more than ready for a small dinner and a warm bed.

"Elfman?" she whispered, looking up at his profile when he hummed. He didn't meet her gaze, but kept watching the sunset with the smallest smile visible under the long moustache and beard that Cancer had given him to complete his look. "I never knew you'd be so good with kids."

"It's not all that hard," he said softly. "And being Santa is even easier."

"Oh?"

He chuckled, and the sound was so low that she silently leaned closer to the vibration in his chest. "When my parents were still alive, my dad used to dress up as Santa. Every single year."

Lucy smiled and returned her gaze to the sky ahead of them washed in soft sighs of pink and orange.

"He mostly did it for Lisanna," he continued. "But it was one of the only times we could get Mira to play along with something like that. Lis was too young to realize that Mira was Santa's helper."

"I've seen a picture of you guys when you were younger in the guild," she said. "I can't imagine that Mira doing it."

"She wasn't really like that too much before we were on our own," he said. "But with our parents gone, and then her magic manifesting… I think she felt like that's how she had to be to take care of me and Lis."

Lucy just couldn't understand it though. Yes, she and everyone else knew that Mira had a dark side to her - that was a given - but even after having heard the stories of her rivalry with Erza, it still didn't make sense. Then again, maybe it was just something she never would understand about Mira Jane Strauss. Lucy hadn't lived her life. She hadn't dealt with the same struggles while trying to care for younger siblings.

"But one time, Mira was sick around Christmas," he said, drawing her attention to him once more. His smile widened and his large hand covered her shoulder. "I remember my dad saying to me…" She blinked in surprise when he finally looked down at her and all the humor faded from his expression. His brows drew together and his jaw tightened, pulling his lips down into a half-frown that made Lucy feel just a little guilty for… something… she couldn't be sure what, but she felt guilty over it. "He said,  _'If you wanna be a real man, you'll make your sister smile._ '"

She didn't say anything at first, but Lucy definitely wondered if that was where he'd gotten his  _Real Man_  speeches from.

"I was so shy back then," he laughed, "But it was for my little sister. So I played the part of the cheery elf for her."

"I bet she loved it," Lucy said. He just nodded, and they remained in silence for several long moments. She wondered what it must have been like, having a family like the Strausses once had. A mother and father, three kids. Lucy was almost envious of Elfman for having grown up with his sisters so close to him like that. For having sisters in general.

"How about you?" he asked. Lucy glanced up from her place under his warm, comforting arm, and found his bright blue eyes gazing down at her. "Any fun holiday stories from when you were a kid?"

"Not really," she said, hiding the deeper flush to her cheeks in the blanket. She discreetly scratched her stomach to relieve some of the chafed, itchy feeling that the costume had been giving her all day. "My parents used to do fun stuff with me when my mom was alive. Decorating the tree and all that. But then after she died… Well, it…"

"It changed, huh?" he asked. Lucy nodded, and when he didn't push for more information, she breathed a soft, barely audible sigh of relief.

Sometimes she wanted to talk about what life was like after her mother died. Most times, she didn't like thinking about it. But every once in a blue moon, she did want to talk about it. It was just that she also felt oddly alone when those times came. Because there wasn't anyone in the guild that could relate to it. Just like she couldn't relate all that well to Elfman's stories about growing up with his sisters.

Besides, usually when she did bring up something about living in the Konzern, all she got in return were weird looks. Ones that seemed to scream,  _"But you lived in a mansion, how could life really be all that bad?"_  or " _Sure, just rub in how filthy rich your family was."_

So, Lucy had grown even more accustomed to keeping those stories to herself. She didn't like the feeling of people thinking she was a snob based on her father's past success.

But there was one story that stuck out to her, just like it did every year around Christmas. Just a single memory that always made her smile.

"Well," she began slowly, "There's one." Elfman's attention shifted back down to her, but Lucy refused to return his questioning gaze. "It was before my mother got sick. We went out with…" It wasn't that big of a deal to say it. She could say it. "With the servants into a wooded area on the Konzern's property. There were some of the most amazing pine trees there."

When she closed her eyes and took a breath, she could smell the rich scent of pine and fresh snow all over again even as they flew over a snowy field with no trees around for miles.

"My father brought an axe and we all played a game. Whoever found the best Christmas tree was the winner."

"What was the prize?" he asked softly, and her lips lifted just a little more.

"A whole tin of cookies and getting to put the star on the tree," she laughed. "We got into teams of two, and me and Mama got lost. Mrs. Spetto - she was one of our maids - found the best tree and my father cut it down himself. It wasn't until later that they realized me and Mama hadn't come back."

"Were you alright?"

"Yeah," Lucy laughed, a little harder this time. "By the time they found us, we were too busy making snow angels together to be bothered with trying to find our way back." She finally did look up at Elfman when his booming laugh filled the air. "I even got Papa to lay down in the snow and make them with us."

"That's a great story," he said. "I can't remember doing anything like that with my parents."

"What about with your sisters?" she asked.

His head tilted from one side to the other as he thought back through the years. "Not really. Maybe once before Lisanna went to Edolas, but I just watched."

"Are you telling me you've never made a snow angel?" When Elfman shook his head with a sheepish little smile, Lucy gasped. She grabbed the reins from his hands that were connected to the front of the sleigh instead of reindeer, then veered them off course and down toward the ground.

"Lucy, what are you-"

"We're fixing this," she said quickly.

"You're gonna crash!" he bellowed while trying to reach for the reins again. She yanked them away once more and the sleigh wobbled. "Lucy!"

The wind rustled the blanket near her face as they picked up in speed. But she was having far too much fun listening to the way Elfman shouted in horror over the angle they were descending at. Granted, Lucy had never steered a sleigh before. She'd never had the opportunity, not even with one that stayed on the ground instead of flying. And her only real experience with flight in the first place was with Happy carrying her.

Between one moment and the next, it clicked. She didn't really know what she was doing here. They were barreling toward the ground at breakneck speeds. She tried to remember how Elfman had steadied them previously when a particularly nasty updraft had tried to upend the sleigh, but it wasn't coming back to her. She couldn't remember how to do anything aside from hold onto the reins in a quickly tightening grip.

"Pull back!" he shouted.

Her hands didn't move. Her muscles tensed as the crisp white snow-covered hill beneath them grew closer.

"Lucy, pull-!"

They crashed into the snowy hill with enough force that she was sent flying several feet from the sleigh. The way she landed was jarring, with her face hitting the white flakes well before her feet arced up and over her head in the most painful backflip known to mankind. By the time Lucy was lying on her back with a mouthful of snow, she was sure Elfman would be there at any second to rip into her over her stupid decision.

It took several minutes for the clouds in the sky above her to stop spinning, and in that time Elfman still didn't show up. When she finally found the will to roll onto her side and slowly pull herself up to sit, Lucy was actually just a tad bit worried. "Elfman?"

Silence was her only answer.

She bit her lip and scanned her surroundings for the sleigh, only to find the tail end of it sticking out of the snow hill she'd been steering them toward. At least her aim had been true, but that didn't make her feel too much better. She still couldn't find her partner. And he was wearing an enormous red suit, so it shouldn't have been all that difficult to spot his towering, bulky body.

"Elfman, are you alright?"

There was still no sign of him, even as she walked around the sleigh, and then the hill itself. The only indentations in the snow were from her own boots.

"Oh my god, I killed Elfman," she whimpered. "Mira's gonna murder me!"

Her eyes widened a moment later when the sleigh was thrown through the air. It crashed to the ground and rolled onto its side, and Lucy turned just in time to see a large white beast rearing up and roaring as it lunged for her. She shrieked in terror and tried to scramble away, but it was too fast. Its arms wrapped around her, crushing her against its snowy chest.

"Please don't kill me!"

The last thing she'd been expecting was for the thing to laugh with Elfman's deep voice. Or for its hands to grab her sides and for its thick fingers to wriggle in just the right spot to make her shriek in a wholly different way. A full, high-pitched laugh escaped her as she writhed and kicked to free herself.

"Killing you is the furthest thing from my mind."

"Good!" Lucy gasped as she was tackled to the ground, getting another mouthful of snow in the process. But it didn't matter, because she felt his beard on her forehead, and as they rolled around in the snow, she was able to get her revenge on Elfman by tickling him right back. It didn't even bother her when she got an Elfman-sized handful of snow down the back of her clothes. "Oh my god, cold!"

They didn't have a care in the world as they continued playing in the snow. It had been so long since Lucy had even done something like this that, as they eventually lay panting on the white flurries covering the ground, she couldn't stop herself from smiling while looking over at her companion. And she could see Elfman's bright grin hiding behind his moustache and beard when he looked back at her.

"Ready to make your first snow angel?" she asked.

He nodded, chuckling when Lucy crawled across the short distance between them, then grabbed one of his arms. She stretched it out to its limit at his side, and he moved the other to copy it.

"Feet together," she said, watching as he did as he was told. Lucy laid herself on the ground beside him and stretched out as well. "Slide your arms up above your head, then down to your sides."

"And then spread my feet," Elfman chuckled. She smiled over at him as they moved in unison, creating snow angels only feet away from their crashed sleigh. They would definitely need to warm themselves up after this, but for the time being, she just allowed herself to enjoy being a little bit childish, playing in the snow as an elf with a muscular Santa by her side.

* * *

By the time they found an inn, Lucy was ready to rub her naked body all over the rug just to make the itching stop. Her only reprieve had been when she'd gotten snow on her back. She'd been far more concerned with not freezing to death than how itchy she was. But now? Now, she was sure that her skin had been rubbed raw by this awful material.

Just lifting her hand to secretly scratch under her breasts for the millionth time as they walked toward their room was nearly enough to bring her to her knees.

"Are you alright?" Elfman asked.

She nodded. "I need a bath."

He chuckled and unlocked the door, letting her walk inside first. Lucy thanked him quietly and dropped her bag on the first bed she saw, then made her way to the bathroom. Once inside, with the door locked behind her, Lucy started the bath and quickly stripped out of her itchy elf costume. The red splotches all over her chest and stomach and arms was definitely disconcerting. Only slightly more worrisome were the places that had been rubbed raw from her incessant scratching all day.

Oh, this wasn't good at all.

She turned back toward the bath and grimaced. While Lucy loved them, that probably wouldn't do her any favors. The hot water would just make her itching worse. And the inn's soap would dry her skin out. It wasn't normally in issue for her, since she could use lotion to get her skin back to its appropriate silky smooth feel, but…

"Uh, Elfman?"

"Yeah?" he called from the other side of the door. Lucy wrapped a towel around herself and returned to the door. She leaned against the jamb and took a deep breath before opening it. She found him only a few feet away, carefully removing the large red jacket of his costume to reveal a black t-shirt that appeared to be vacuum-sealed to his broad chest and bulging biceps. Elfman looked over his shoulder at her, his eyes widening at the sight of her arms and chest and part of her legs. "What happened?"

"My costume," she said. Lucy reached up and scratched at her chest, then groaned and rubbed the towel over her stomach. At least she was still wearing her bra and panties, so if the towel fell she wouldn't be flashing him. But still. She was just so unbelievably itchy!

"Are you allergic to the material?"

Lucy shrugged as he came closer, taking only two large strides to stand just in front of her. "Maybe? I dunno."

He shook his head and carefully picked up her wrist. "Is it everywhere?"

She nodded and used her other hand to scratch her back between her shoulder blades. She rubbed her thighs together when the uncomfortable sensation slithered down to her knees.

"You can't keep scratching," he said. "This looks pretty bad."

"But I'm itchy!"

He gave her a patient smile and grabbed both of her hands, easily dwarfing them with his own. "Give me a few minutes. I'll go find a store and get you some lotion for it, okay?"

Lucy let out a quiet sigh, but nodded all the same. She could at least try not to tear her skin off. Though, it was going to be a real test for her, she realized. Suddenly, she pulled back from him and turned toward the bathroom again. "Bath or no bath?"

"A bath would probably be good," he said, though he didn't sound too sure. "Get washed up, okay? I'll be back before you're done."

She let out a heavy breath and sulked back into the bathroom. She stayed on autopilot while preparing her bath and sitting down in the unfamiliar tub. It was a bit smaller than her own back at her apartment, and not nearly as comfortable. Still, she used the bar of soap the inn provided and carefully scrubbed herself. It hurt like hell when she did it too hard, but at the same time… It got rid of the itching when she used a washcloth.

It probably wasn't the smartest idea, but she did it anyway. Lucy lathered up the cloth and rubbed it over her stomach, her legs, across her breasts and up to her throat. And then her face. God, when had her face gotten so itchy? And up into the roots of her hair, too?

Well, she did need to wash her hair. She put the cloth down and grabbed the shampoo. By the time she was rinsing, Elfman had come back to the room and knocked on the bathroom door. "Just a minute," she called out. "I'm getting out now."

"Do you wanna put this on yourself?"

Lucy stood and looked down at herself, then winced. She'd made it worse with the washcloth. That really hadn't been a good idea on her part. "Uh… I apparently can't be trusted not to scratch myself," she called back.

She could swear she heard him sigh on the other side of the door. "Just act like it's chicken pox," he said.

Lucy blushed while putting on a new bra and a pair of panties that she was sure Virgo had brought out for her at some point. How the spirit had done it without her noticing, she couldn't be sure. At least it was what she normally wore, and not something ridiculous. Like crotchless panties.

On second thought… Lucy checked to make sure by reaching between her legs and trying to pull the lacy fabric apart. No, they were normal. Thank goodness.

She wrapped the towel around herself and walked out of the bathroom again, finding her companion sitting on his own bed with a paper bag just next to him.

"I've never had them," she finally said.

"Huh?"

"Chicken pox," she sighed. "I never got the chicken pox." Lucy made her way to the bed and sat down next to the bag. She'd heard all about how horrible they were, and how desperate people were to not scratch themselves, but she just didn't know how it felt.

He grabbed her hand just before she could scratch her leg, and Lucy looked up into his deep blue eyes. "No scratching," he said gently. He carefully set her hand down, then pulled a hair tie from the bag and gathered her wet hair into a high ponytail.

Lucy was left in shock at how tender he was while tying her hair up. He didn't pull too much, and even though one of his hands easily could have crushed her head, it didn't hurt one bit while he made sure every strand was pulled away from her shoulders. "You've had practice doing this, haven't you…"

Elfman chuckled while taking a bottle of pink lotion from the bag. "Yep. I can't tell you how many times Mira's forgotten to tie her hair back while cooking. The last thing you want in your hair is raw beef."

Lucy's nose scrunched in disgust. She could feel that one on a spiritual level. When she looked at him again, she realized that he'd actually put little hair ties in his long beard. That couldn't possibly be comfortable for him. And it definitely didn't look all that great. But she wasn't going to say anything about it. No matter how weird Elfman looked with facial hair, it was for the job.

He poured a generous amount of lotion onto his large palm, then brought it to her shoulder. The coolness soothed her in an instant, and her head dropped back as he slowly moved his hand across her chest, just beneath her collar bones. It didn't matter to her that his fingers barely dipped down between her breasts as he rubbed it in. With her eyes closed, she didn't see the bright red flush to his cheeks when he quickly redirected his touch to her red, splotchy arms.

"Ooh, get my stomach too," she hummed.

"Uh…"

She moved to lie down on the bed and opened her eyes to look up at him. Elfman stared down at her, wide-eyed and slightly slack-jawed. After a moment, she realized just why he was looking at her like that. How, exactly, was he going to accomplish that while she was only wearing a towel and her lingerie?

"Uh," she laughed nervously, "M-Maybe my legs? I can do my stomach."

Elfman nodded and set his attention on her legs. They weren't nearly as bad as her chest and stomach and back, but she could deal with the lingering discomfort for the time being. Except he stopped at the edge of the towel, instead of moving higher toward where the worst of the itching was at, high on her thigh.

"Here, just… a little more," she said, reaching down to pull the towel higher. Just high enough that he could reach the rest of her legs while still keeping her underwear hidden. She sighed in contentment when she felt his lotion-covered fingers massaging her upper thigh, then higher still toward her hip. He paused again and moved back down, keeping his touch on the outside of her leg. Lucy frowned up at him. "Elfman."

She was far more focused on the bright red tint to his cheeks than his eyes when he looked at her face again. "You can do the rest, right?"

Her head tilted curiously. "Are you okay?"

He nodded just a little too quickly and got back to work on her other leg. He steered clear of her inner thighs, which was a bit of a disappointment. She was itchy there, too, and really… if he was going to put lotion on her, then Lucy didn't want him to skip over anything.

Except when his thumbs curved around her legs at the knee and slid upward, she felt a strange pulse in the center of her stomach that radiated this tense sort of warmth through her body. His hands paused with his thumbs only an inch away from her lace-covered core, and suddenly Lucy's face was just as bright a red as his. Was that why he'd gotten so weird? Because he was rubbing his hands all over her?

Sure, they were friends, but they weren't  _this_  close. They weren't the type of friends who did things like this. It was just a little too intimate.

"Where else?" he breathed. Lucy had a feeling that, if she tried to speak, nothing would come out. She was far too embarrassed to say a word right then. And only minutes before, she'd been so consumed with how it felt to finally not be ready to rip her skin off in macabre little strips that she'd all but begged him to put lotion all over her. "Your stomach is still bothering you, right?"

She nodded, waiting with bated breath as he added more lotion to his hand, then pulled the towel open. His eyes never left her face, even when she squeaked and bit her lips. She hissed a moment later when she felt the lotion stinging as it touched an area she'd actually scratched open.

Elfman frowned and looked down at the scrapes on her stomach. His fingers were so sure and strong as they gently brushed across every inch of her flesh, down her sides to her hips, across the top of her panties, and even just under her bra. He didn't push her bra out of the way, and she didn't feel him touching even the underside of her breasts, so that was a plus.

Except she was embarrassed all over again when he quietly told her to roll over. She kept the towel over her butt - the last thing she needed was for him to see lace disappearing between her cheeks - but she was nowhere near prepared enough to feel him struggling to loosen the clasp on her bra.

Still, Lucy took pity on him and reached back with one hand to pop the clasp. More than likely, his fingers were just too large to do that sort of task. She hummed in contentment when she felt one of hands covering her entire back, basking in the coolness of the lotion.

"Thank you, Elfman," she said, smiling into the pillow. She groaned when he started actually massaging her back and shoulders. With her eyes closed, she didn't see how he bit at his lips while watching his hands gently knead her muscles, and she hadn't a clue that he was wondering why the sight of her small waist in his grasp was making him just a little breathless.


End file.
